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ELEMENTS 



OP 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE, 



OR THE 



CONNECTION BETWEEN SCIENCE 

AND THB 

ART OF PRACTICAL FARMING 

PRIZE ESSAY OF THE NEW YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

BY JOHN P. NORTON, M. A,, 

PROFESSOR OF SCIEXTIFIC AGRICULTURE IN TALE COLLEOE, 

ADAPTED TO THE USE OF SCHOOLS. 

NEW YORK: 
C. M. SAXTON & CO., 

AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHERS. 

1855. 






Entered accorJing to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, 

BY JOHN P. NORTON, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of 

Connecticut. 



C^^l 0^ 






V 



PREEACE. 



This little treatise is an attempt to supply a great 
and growing want in our country; a want of some 
elementary work, that shall clearly and distinctly ex- 
plain the great principles that are involved in the 
applications of science to agriculture. The necessity 
for such a work has become apparent to all who have 
engaged in the dissemination of knowledge upon this 
subject; to all who have endeavored to arouse the 
farming community, by bringing forward incitements 
to the study of this new science. 

The agricultural interest is now awaking to a full 
sense of its deficiences, and demands imperatively, 
that knowledge, in clear and comprehensive forms, 
be placed within its reach. 

We have large works of great merit, in Johnston's 
Lectures, and Stephens's Farmers' Guide; but these 
are too bulky for the man who has just begun to en- 
tertain the idea that there may, after all, be something 
learned from books. A small work of this kind is far 
more likely to attract his attention, and gradually to 



ir PREFACE. 

lead him on, till he ends by an eager study of the 
larger treatises. 

In the general arrangement of the chapters, I have 
followed that marked out in Prof. Johnston's admirable 
Catechism of Agricultural Chemistry and Geology. 
The expressed opinion of many teachers, "that the 
catechetical form was not adapted to the schools of 
this country, and that they needed a W'ork of more 
fullness and detail," induced me to think of an effort 
to supply their wants. 

The approbation bestowed by the New-York State 
Society upon the essay, which, with some additions 
and alterations, has assumed its present shape, led to 
a more speedy complfition of my half-formed plans, 
than I had anticipated. 

The teacher will perceive that the experiments, and 
the illustrations, occasionally recommended, are of the 
most simple character. No expensive materials are 
needed, and, excepting a few cheap chemicals, almost 
any house could furnish every requisite article. 

No questions are appended to the chapters, for the 
reason that they would be a disagreeable interruption 
to the general reader, and w^ould perhaps confine the 
teacher to a routine in his examinations. The chap- 
ters are, however, divided into sections and para- 
graphs, in a way calculated to fix the attention of the 
reader upon leading points. 

Questions should be asked with the distinct inten- 
tion of impressing at least the chief conclusions nnd 



PREFACE. V 

facts of each chapter, in such a manner that they can 
not soon be forgotten. 

My aim has been, to furnish a complete sketch of 
scientific agriculture, in plain and intelligible lan- 
guage; accompanied by as many details and expla- 
nations as seemed desirable in a purely elementary 
work. 

As such, I beg leave to present it to the American 
I'armer, and to the American teacher, with the hope 
that it may be found adapted to their use. 

JOHN P. NORTON. ^ 

Nkw-Haven, April 16, 1S,';0. 



CONTENTS. 



True meaning of the word Agrictjlture, page 1 

Division of bodies into organic and inorganic substances, ... .i 

Organic elements of plants. 

Carbon, 6 

Hydrogen, 7 

Oxygen, 9 

Nitrogen, 11 

Inorganic part of plants^ or ash. 

Potash, 16 

Soda, 17 

Lime, 17 

Magnesia, • • • • 17 

Iron, 18 

Manganese, 19 

Silica, 19 

Chlorine, 20 

Sulphuric acid, 21 

Phosphoric acid, 28 

Variations in the composition of ash, 23 

Sources of the organic food of plants. 

Carbonic acid gas, 28 

Quantity of, in the atmosphere, 30 

Absorbed by the leaves of plants, 31 

Furnishes carbon to the plant, 32 

Carbon also derived from organic substances in the soil, .... 33 

Sources of oxygen and hydrogen of plants, 35 

Sources of nitrogen of plants, 35 

Ammonia, cid 

Nitric acid • 37 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

The organic substances of plants. 

Structure and functions of the roots, p. 39 

Of the stem and bark, 40 

Of the leaves, 41 

Properties and composition of water, 42 

Woody fibre, 44 

Starch, 44 

Sugar and gum, 45 

Dextrine, 46 

Gluten, legumin, casein, albumen. 47 

Sources of the supply of carbon to plants, 4<8 

Of hydrogen and oxygen, r)0 

Of nitrogen, 51 



The soU. 

Composition, general, 5S 

Of its organic part, 53 

Necessity of this part, and how it is to be kept up, 54 

Derivation and classification of soils, 56 

Number and names of inorganic substances in, 59 

Reason for fertility or barrenness in, 61 

Mechanical improvement of, 65 

Evil effects of too much moisture in, 66 

Draining, 68 

Proper depth, 69 

Materials to be used : stones, 70 

Tiles, 71 

Subsoil and trench ploughing, 73 

Relations between the soil and plant, 74 

Composition of ash from crops, 78 

Classiiication of plants according to the composition of theii 

ash, 79 

Effect of these classes upon the soil, 81 

Of special manures, 81 

Of plaster of paris, or gypsum, 83 

Of rotations in cropping, 85 



Manures. 

Necessity for, 89 

Irrigation, 90 

Vegetable manures ; green crops, 91 

Straw, 93 

Seaweed , rape dust, 9 1 

Animal manures; blood, (lesh, hair, wool, 9.j 

Bones, 96 

Dissolved in sulphui ic acid. 97 



CONTENTS. ix' 

Mnniiros from domestic animals, p. 101 

Liquid manures, and tanks, 102 

Why nitrogen in manures is valuable 104 

Horse manures, 104 

Manures from birds-, guano, 105 

Fish manures, 107 

Shellfish, 108 

Saline and mineral manures; lime, 109 

Various states in which lime is applied, 110 

Marl, 112 

Gypsum, or plaster of paris, 114 

Common salt, nitrates, and sulphates, 116 

Their effects, 1 18 

Modes of application of powerful manures, 120 

Wood ashes, 120 

Coal ashes, 122 

Peat ashes, 123 

Soot, 124 

Composition of different crops. 

Wheat and wheaten bread, 127 

Barley, 129 

Oatmeal, buckwheat, rice, 130 

Indian corn, sweet corn, 131 

Peas and beans, 132 

potatoes, 133 

Turnips, carrots, beets, ^c 134 

Comparative yield of various crops, 134 

Grasses, 1 35 

Application of the crops in feeding. 

Protein or nitrogenous bodies similar in plants and in ani- 

m.als, 140 

Respiration, theory of, 141 

Uses of starch in, 142 

Of fatty and oily food, 143 

Of feeding young animals, , 144 

Of feeding full growm animals, 146 

Of feeding fattening animals, 147 

Of cut food, 149 

Of soiling, or feeding with green cut food, 151 

Necessity of shelter during winter, 152 

Influence of exercise, darkness and warmth, 153 

Of cooked food, 156 

Of soured food, 158 

Influence of food upon manures, 159 

I-ffpct of feedins: upon pastures, 10 i 



I 






X CONTENTS. 

Milk and dairy produce generally. 

Composition of milk, p. 163 

Galactometer, 1C5 

Of butter, 166 

Proper temperature for churning, 167 

Reasons for its frequent bad quality 168 

Purification of salt, 169 

Casein or curd of milk, 169 

Varieties and composition of cheese, 170 

Reasons why soils in dairy district s become exhausted of 

phosphates, 172 

Feeding of milch cows, 173 

Recapitulation 

Of leading points, 175 

JVature of chemical am. iysis. 

Requisites for a good analysis, 187 

Care and skill necessary, 189 

Simple chemical examination of a soil, laethods for, 192 

Examination of marls, 195 

Examination of guanos, 196 



1 B Jlpplicaiions of geology to ag riculture. 

Unstratified and stratified rocks, 199 

Granites, 200 

rtf- Trap or basaltic rocks, 202 

Different strata form different soils, 202 

I Of drift, and its influence on soils, 204 

Alluvial deposits, 206 

Value of geological knowledge, 206 



ELEMENTS 

OF 

SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. ORGANIC ELEMENTS OF PLANTS. 

True meaning of the word agriculture : how much more it means 
than is commonly understood. Plants divided into an organic 
and inorganic part: meaning of these words. Names of organic 
elements: Carbon and its properties-, hydrogen and its proper- 
ties; oxygen and its properties; nitrogen and its properties, 
with modes for obtaining all. Importance of these bodies. 

SECTION I. DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURE. 

Agriculture, according to the usually accepted 
meaning of the word, signifies the art of cultivating 
the soil. It is unnecessary to say that this is its 
true meaning, and yet how few of those who would 
promptly give the above definition seem to have any 
adequate idea of all that is involved in the words " cul- 
tivating the soil." 

A soil that is cultivated, is thoroughly and more or 
less deeply ploughed according to the situation, is 
mellow, is free from stumps and large stones, is dry 
and clear of hurtful weeds. How many fields in this 
condition are to be seen in most American villages? 
Are they in the majority, or do they constitute a veiy 
small minority? It is to be feared that there are few 
7ieighborhoods, even of limited extent, fitted to chal- 
lenge inspection. 



i DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURE. 

How frequently and how largely do weeds, bushes^ 
brambles, uneven surlaces, unsightly stumps, and ston^is 
scarred with many a mark of plough and harrow teeth, 
enter into the composition of our rural scenery j and 
this not in new settlements alone, but in older and 
long inhabited districts! 

Even if we suppose that we have our farm thorough- 
ly cultivated in the manner first described, is it suffi- 
cient? No, the art of cultivating the soil involves 
.something beyond this. The thoroughly accomplished 
farmer must study the nature of various crops, until 
he finds those which are best suited to his land; if 
these are not such as pay him best, he must seek to 
])ring about some change by means of which he can 
})rofitably grow those that will. This done, he must 
bat himself to increase the quantity grown per acre, 
lor on this increase depends his profit. It costs little 
more to cultivate the ground for a crop of 30 bushels, 
than for one of 10 bushels. 

The main end seems to be, in numerous cases, to 
obtain indeed a great yield of valuable produce, but 
with the least possible investment of money. Many, 
too many farmers go entirely upon this principle; they 
ought, however, to think farther, and then they would 
see that there is another point worthy of considera- 
tion. That point is, the keeping of the land in good 
condition. Cheapness in obtaining a present crop is 
not every thing : the prudent man will have an eye to 
the future; he will see that if he always takes away 
without adding, the richest land must ultimately be- 
come poor, or at least greatly reduced in value. 

The man who does this is like that one in the old 
fable who killed the goose that laid him daily a golden 
^%^^ He thought that there must be many eggs within 
the goose, but there was of course only one; and he 
found, when it was too late, that he had destroyed the 
source of his riches in a most foolish and shortsighted 



ART OF CULTIVATEVQ THE SOIL. 3 

manper So will it always be with the farmer who 
pursues a like system. Tempted by the idea of ob- 
taining a few crops with little expense now, he ruins 
his land foi the future. 

The good farmer, then, desires to grow large crops 
with the least necessary cost, but at the same time never 
forgets that it is the best economy to keep his land in 
good condition, and even improving. In order to ac- 
complish this, he must do something more than merely 
plough and harrow, sow, plant and reap : he must 
think and study also. a. He must learn the nature of 
the various crops he raises or Welshes to raise : these 
crops differ ; he should seek to understand the differ- 
ences, and how* they are caused, h. One field he will 
find to vary much in its nature from another; a certain 
crop grows here, and fails there : are these things 
accidental, or can he discover the reasons? c. In 
adding certain substances called manures to the soil, 
he finds diverse effects, not only in their application to 
different fields, but also to different crops : here is 
another subject for study, d. His animals thrive on 
some kinds of food, and derive little benefit from others. 
A small bulk of some varieties sustains and increases 
their size or strength, W'hile upon great quantities of 
other varieties they grow poor. What are the pro- 
perties upon which these effects depend? 

Thus we perceive that the farmer who really wishes 
to understand the " art of cultivating the soil" must 
go a long way beyond ploughing. He must, it is 
true, know how to get his soil into a good state; but 
he must also know something as to the nature of his 
crops, of the various soils on which they grow, of the 
manures which are applied to increase that growth, 
and of the food which he supplies to his animals. 

This, it may be said, involves too much study for a 
practical working man. I reply, that it is not neces- 
sary for him to learn the minute details of scien^^ific 



ELEMENTS OF PLANTS. 



researches and discoveries. It is enough to begin with 
the leading principles that have been established; with 
these he will be able to work more intelligently than 
ever before, and to go on continually adding to his 
knowled<re. 



SECTION n. PLANTS DIVIDED INTO AN ORGANIC AND AN 
INORGANIC PART. 

In endeavoring to explain, in a simple manner, 
something of this desirable branch of knowledge, we 
will commence with the plant, and give in a clear 
connected shape the information that has been collected 
by the most approved writers and experimenters con- 
cerning it. Hard words and obscure phrases will be 
avoided whenever it is possible. 

We commence our examination with some inquiry 
into the nature of the materials which compose all of 
our crops. The first result arrived at is the existence" 
of two grand classes of bodies, to one of which, or to 
a mixture of both, belongs every part of the plant. 

In connection with this fact, there is one peculiarity 
in all vegetable substances, that early attracts our 
attention. Whether we take the hard wood, the soft 
flexible straw, the leaf, or the root, we find that all are 
more or less combustible. When dry they generally 
burn readily, and with a flame, but we see at the same 
time that all does not disappear : the stalk of straw, 
or the piece of wood, for the most part burns away; 
but after the flame has gone out, there is always an ash 
left. Thus we establish a grand division : one part 
burns and disappears; another part is incombustible, 
and remains. Chemists have named the part that burns 
away, organic matter; and the part that remains, or 
the ash, inorganic matter. 

Fire, then, is one test, bv means of which we i\h 



ORGANIC ELEMENTS. 5 

tinguish organic from inorganic substances. To the 
first of these two classes we will now attend. 

The name organic is given, because organic bodies, 
being products of life, have an organized structure that 
can not be produced by artificial means. What is 
meant by an organized structure, may be seen by 
examining a cross section from the stem of a tree : 
this will be found to consist of little tubes and cells, all 
arranged in a regular manner. Under the microscope, 
a potato W'ill appear made up of cells having grains 
of starch contained. So with other plants or parts of 
plants, they all have an organization that is a product 
of life, and which we therefore can not imitate. In- 
organic bodies have no such structure, and can in 
many cases be produced by chemical processes. 

SECTION III. ORGANIC ELEMENTS OF PLANTS, 

The organic part in plants is by far the largest, as 
is plainly to be seen on burning any form of vegetable 
matter. It ordinarily constitutes from 90 to 97 lbs. in 
every hundred. 

During the burning, this solid organic matter dis- 
appears : it is driven off into the atmosphere, until 
nothing but a little ash remains; that which has gone, 
then, has evidently become air. It is easy to see that 
this part of the plant can only have been formed from 
air at first. Such a conclusion may seem very strange 
at first, but a little reflection will show that we can 
arrive at no other. When we have made up our minds 
to this, it becomes important to know what kind of air 
it is that forms so large a part of our plants, or if there 
is more than one kind. 

These points have been determined through the 
assistance of certain chemical experiments, by means 
of which it has been proved that the organic part of 
plants consists of four substances. 

1* 



6 CARBON. 

Their names are Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen and 
Hydrogen. 

The whole of the organic part of vegetables and 
plants, the whole of the atmosphere, all water, and a 
very large part of the solid rocks which make up this 
globe, consist of one, two, three, or all of these four 
substances united in different proportions. These 
names then stand for bodies of immense importance; 
and it is very necessary that every farmer should at 
least know something about them. The three last, 
oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, we find in their pure 
state as gases : gas is the chemical term for the dif- 
erent kinds of air. The other substance, carbon, is 
found in nature as a solid, and to this we will first 
direct our attention. 

Carbon is a solid, usually of a black color, and 
having no taste or smell. All the varieties of carbon 
burn more or less freely in the air, and, w^hile burning, 
are converted into a gas called carbonic acid gas: this 
will by-and-by be described. 

One very abundant form of carbon is common 
charcoal; another is lampblack; others are coke and 
blacklead: the most beautiful form is the diamond. 
This, strange to say, though it looks so pure, clear and 
beautiful, and bears so high a price, does not differ at 
all in its composition from common charcoal! A 
diamond can easily be burned by a high heat, and the 
product of the burning will be carbonic acid gas, just 
as w^hen charcoal is burned. Charcoal seems to be 
soft; but if the fine powder in small quantity be rub- 
bed between plates of glass, it is found that the little 
particles are very hard, and able to scratch the glass 
almost as easily as the diamond itself. 

Charcoal has strong disinfecting properties : liquids 
that are quite offensive in smell, when filtered through 
it, become pure and sweet. The color is also extracted 
from many liquids by it. Some of these effects are 



HYDROGEN. 



owing to its power of absorbing gaseous and other 
substances, itself being full of pores. 

Both the flame that we see in wood, and the bright 
glow of coal fires, are owing to the burning of carbon; 
the flames of candles, of oil lamps, of ordinary coal 
gas, are all colored by the combustion of this substance. 
It will soon be seen that it constitutes a very large 
proportion in the organic part of all vegetables and 
trees. 

Hydrogen, as I have said, is a gas, or kind of air. 
It is transparent, tasteless, colorless and inodorous. 
As we can not smell, taste or see it, we can only judge 
of its properties by its action with other bodies. For 
this purpose it is obtained by putting pieces of zinc 
or iron filings into water, and then adding sulphuric 
acid, that is, the common oil of vitriol. About a third 
as much acid as water should be used. The mixture 
will soon grow warm, and hydrogen gas will at once 
commence rising to the surface in little bubbles. 

a. If a glass be laid upon the top of the tumbler 
containing the mixture, so as to prevent the too rapid 
escape of the gas, the tumbler will in a few moments 
become so filled that the gas will burn when a flame 
is brought into contact with it. 

h. By far the most 



Pifr. 1. 



satisfactory method is 
to conduct the opera- 
tion as represented in 
fig. 1. In the bottle 
are placed the sul- 
phuric acid, zinc, and 
water. The mouth of 
tlie bottle is stopped 

tightly by a cork, through which passes one end of the 
tube a (this may be of glass or tin); the other end 
passes under water in the cistern 6, its course being 




8 METHOD OF COLLECTING GAS. 

marked by the dotted lines c (this may be a common 
pail, or shallow water tub). A tumbler or other con- 
venient vessel is now filled with water, and inverted 
under the surface, so that it may contain no air, being 
filled entirely with water : it is then brought carefully 
over the orifice of the tube, and the ascending bubbles 
of gas displace the water until it is entirely driven out, 
the gas remaining confined. If a little shelf, hollowed 
somewhat underneath, and with a hole through it at 
the highest point of the hollow, be placed in the cis- 
tern, three or four vessels in succession may be filled 
over this hole and set aside for use, keeping the mouths 
always under water. A common tub of a shallow 
form will answer the purpose of a cistern. 

I have been thus particular in describing this little 
apparatus of the cistern, because all of the other gases 
concerning which we are to study may be received in 
the same way. It is perfectly eflfective, yet at the 
same time simple and cheap. 

The hydrogen being thus collected, we are next to 
ascertain what are its properties. 

1. It is inflammable : if a lighted taper be plunged 

into a jar of it, the gas will instantly take fire, and 

burn with a pale flame. This may also be shown by 

pj 2. removing the cork from the bottle a 

in fig. 1, and substituting another cork 

with a short tube coming to a point 

as fig. 2. A match will kindle the 

jet of gas issuing from the orifice a, 

and it will continue to burn so long 

as the generation of gas within the 

bottle is active. 

2. Although inflammable itself, it 
is not a supporter of combustion. The 
taper which kindles a jar of it, is it- 
self extinguished. 
3. It is much liojhter than common air, beinj^ the 




OXYGEN. 



lightest of known bodies. This can be shown by 
turning the mouth of a jar filled with it suddenly up- 
ward, and at the same moment applying a taper. 
There will be a slight explosion, and a body of flame 
rising from the jar. On the other hand, if the jar be 
gently lifted and the flame applied beneath, the burning 
will be inside of the jar, and quite gradual. This 
property may also be shown by filling a bladder with 
the gas, and allowing it to rise. It is often used for 
filling balloons, its lightness giving them very great 
buoyancy. 

4. Mixed with common air, this gas is dangerously 
explosive. The first portions which pass over from 
the bottle are therefore to be rejected; and a match 
ought never to he applied to a jar or bottle containing 
it, or in which it is being made, without having first 
tested the purity of a small quantity collected in a little 
tube. If this burns quietly when a taper is placed 
beneath its mouth, the gas is sufficiently pure to use 
with safety. 

5. This gas can be breathed without very injurious 
eflfects, but it will not sustain life. In an atmosphere 
of pure hydrogen, every animal w^ould soon die. 

The next of these three gases is one of exceeding 
importance : its name is Oxygen. It is colorless, 
tasteless and inodorous, like hydrogen, that is, when 
pure: as ordinarily made, it has some impurities. 
The easiest way of preparing it is to mingle some 
chlorate of potash with a small portion of the black 
oxide of manganese. Both of these substances can be 
procured at the shops in our cities and large towns. 
Half a teacupful of the mixture will produce quite 
enough gas for ordinary experimental purposes. The 
chlorate of potash should be powd<ired and dried, be- 
fore mixing with the manganese. When all is ready, 
the mixture is to be put into a flask with a thin bot' 



10 OXYGEN. 

torn, like those often used for holding sweet oil, and 
called Florence flasks. These will bear the heat of a 
lamp gradually applied, without breaking. Flasks of 
this kind, made expressly for such purposes, are now 
to be obtained in many places. When the mixture is 
introduced, a cork with a bent tube should be fitted in, 
and the gas collected over water in a cistern as before. 
The heat requires to be continued for some time, before 
the oxygen w^ill begin to come off with much rapidity. 
Having collected a sufficient quantity, the qualities 
mentioned above will first become obvious. It will 
then be seen, 

2. That on applying a lighted taper, the gas does 
not inflame as did the hydrogen, nor is the taper 
extinguished; on the contrary, it burns with greatly 
increased and extreme brilliancy: it may be blown out 
and relighted by immersion in this gas, so long as the 
least particle of coal remains upon it. So intense is 
its action as a supporter of combustion, that many 
substances ordinarily incombustible take fire in it, and 
burn with great splendor. A spiral roll of small iron 
wire being tipped with sulphur, the latter lighted, and 
then the whole plunged into this gas, the \vire is 
ignited, and burns with the utmost brilliancy. This, 
then, is a most powerful supporter of combustion. 

3. It is no less important to the support of life, 
whether animal or vegetable. Both plants and ani- 
mals speedily die when introduced into any atmosphere 
which does not contain it. In five gallons of common 
air, there is about one gallon of oxygen : when this is 
greatly diminished, animals die. 

If animals are brought into an atmosphere of pure 
oxygen, the effect is found to be too powerful; the 
vital functions are so stimulated as in a very short time 
to wear themselves out by a kind of fever, all of their 
powers being made to act with too much energy. A 
mouse or other small animal, placed in a jar of oxygen, 



NITROGEN. 11 

will breathe very quick, become highly excited, and 
spring about with the greatest activity. Its powers, 
however, are greatly over-stimulated : exhaustion and 
death consequently soon ensue. 

4. It is much heavier than hydrogen, and somewhat 
lighter than common air. 

' 5. This substance is not only the grand supporter of 
combustion and of life, but is also the most powerful 
agent of destruction; for it has a property called by 
chemists oxidizing, that is, of uniting with nearly all 
other bodies and forming new combinations, leading 
either to a changed state or to decay. Thus it is not 
only the promoter of life, but of death and decomposi- 
tion. 

It might be expected that a body of such immense 
importance should be abundant, and accordingly we 
find that oxygen gas is in larger quantity than any other 
element that is known. It forms, as has been said, 
a fifth of the atmosphere ; in nine lbs. of water, there 
are eight of this gas; it exists largely in all plants, 
and, in combination with various inorganic bodies, it 
constitutes a large proportion of the solid crust of our 
earth. We meet it in all places, and see its effects on 
almost every known body. As the reader proceeds, 
he will find numerous references to its action, and will 
become better acquainted with its properties. In the 
very next paragraph below is an instance of its oxi- 
dizing phosphorus. 

The last of these four most important organic sub- 
stances, is Nitrogen. This gas is easily prepared in 
sufficient purity for purposes of experiment, by a very 
simple process. Common air, or our atmosphere, has 
been stated to contain one-fifth of oxygen; the re- 
maining four-fifths are nitrogen. In order to separate 
this nitrogen, we invert an empty glass jar, and place 
the open mouth in water, thus confining w^ithin the 



12 NITROGEN. 

jar a portion of air. Into this air is to be brought a 
piece of ignited phosphorus, contained in a little cup 
so as to iloat on the surface of the water. Phosphorus, 
as is well known, is very inflammable. While burn- 
ing, it unites with the oxygen of the air, and forms 
an important white acid compound called 'phosphoric 
acid : to this we shall have occasion to refer again. 
When the burning phosphorus is brought under the 
jar, the above described process at once commences, 
and continues till all of the oxygen in the air within 
the jar has combined with phosphorus. The nitrogen 
is now left nearly pure. A portion of the confined air 
expanded by heat, of course escapes at first, and the 
jar is filled with white fumes of phosphoric acid. 
These are gradually absorbed by the water, until at 
last the interior of the jar is quite clear. 

1. It is then to be perceived that this gas, like the 
two preceding ones, is colorless, inodorous, and taste- 
less. It has so few marked qualities that it is much 
more easily distinguished from the others by saying 
what it is not, than what it is. Among its negatives, 
then, we find, 

2. That it does not support combustion : a lighted 
taper, plunged into it, is extinguished instantly 

3. It does not burn itself, but remains unaltered 
after contact with flame. 

4. It is a little lighter than atmospheric air. It will 
for this reason remain some time in a jar held with 
the mouth downward, but at once escapes if the jar be 
inverted. Both of these facts may be shov>^n by a 
lighted taper. 

5. It will not support vegetation alone, and animals 
soon die when placed in it. They do not seem to suffer 
from any active poisonous influence, but from a species 
of suffocation as in water. 

This gas is admirably adapted to the purpose which 
it serves in the atmosphere, of temperin"^ the too great 



MPORTANCE OF THE FOUR ORGANIC ELEMENTS 13 

energy of the oxygen. Being incapable of burning 
or supporting combustion, it prevents the general con- 
flagration which would occur in pure oxygen, and also 
reduces its strength to the proper proportion for sus- 
taining animal and vegetable life, without bringing in 
any poisonous or deleterious influences, as many other 
gases would do. We see then that its negative pro- 
perties just fit it for its office. 

I have been thus particular in describing simple 
processes for obtaining these gases, because every mind 
is better satisfied by direct and practical proofs. The 
experiments here given are so easy that the most in- 
experienced experimenter could soon perform them 
w^ithout difficulty. There are few places of any size 
where the necessary materials and apparatus can not 
be found, and obtained with little expense. Every 
teacher should illustrate his explanations by these 
proofs; thereby impressing an idea of each substance 
upon the mind more indelibly than could be done in 
any other way. Many farmers could make them for 
their own satisfaction in leisure hours. 

The reader will now understand why it is that I 
have urged the necessity of becoming acquainted with 
these organic bodies; for he has seen that they, not 
only compose by far the larger proportion of the 
vegetable world, but that mixtures of two or three of 
them constitute the air we breathe, the water we drink, 
and, in one shape or another, a large part of the earth 
upon which we live. Are not these eminently bodies 
with which all of every profession ought to be well 
acquainted; and most of all the farmer, who depends 
on them under various forms for all success, who can 
not engage in the most simple operation without being 
influenced by them in different and most important 
ways? The man who knows the principal properties 
and the peculiar energies of the materials with which 



14 CHEMISTRY AN ADDITIONAL SENSE. 

lie has to do, provided he also has practical skill, is 
obviously in a much better position than the one who 
knows nothing of them, and scorns the very idea of 
learning anything from books. The former shapes his 
course from certainties, from actual reasoning based 
on his own knowledge; the latter does any particular 
thing only because he has seen it done before, or per- 
haps because some other person recommends it. 

Carbon is the only one of these four substances that 
is visible or tangible to our unaided senses, but we see 
that there are means of recognizing the others; that 
we are able to . perceive their properties, and even to 
reason upon their various uses, with no less certainty 
than if we were able to grasp them in our hands and 
hold them up for inspection. Chemistry may thus be 
considered an additional sense. 



-V 



15 



CHAPTER n. 

INORGANIC PART OF PLANTS. 

The ash, or inorganic part of plants. Names of substances which 
constitute this part : Potash, Soda, Lime, Magnesia, Oxide of 
Iron, Oxide of Manganese, Silica, Chlorine, Sulphuric acid, 
Phosphoric acid. Description of their several properties. 

SECTION I. SUBSTANCES WHICH CONSTITUTE THE INORGANIC 
PART OF PLANTS. 

It will be remembered, that although by far the 
larger portion of the plant disappears when fire is 
applied, there is always something remaining called 
the ash, or, as has been before explained, the inorganic 
part. This name inorganic w^as given to denote a 
striking difference between these two great classes of 
bodies, the organic and the inorganic : the one being 
products of life and living organs; the other only 
taken by the organs to answer certain purposes, not 
having been formed by them, and not like them liable 
to quick destruction. 

This ash constitutes so small a part of all living 
plants, that it was for a long time thought to be a 
species of accidental impurity; but after a time, it 
was found that certain substances were almost ahvays 
present in the ash of every cultivated plant. The 
ash of the same plant, grown on different soils, was 
found to have a composition of nearly the same nature; 
thus showing that it did not take in indiscriminately 
every thing that might come in contact with its roots, 
but had a certain power of selection. 



16 POTASH. 

The organic part of plants, although so much the 
larger, consists at most of four substances; but in the 
ash, we occasionally lind as many as ten. These are 
named as follows : Potash, Soda, Lime, Magnesia, 
Oxide of Iron, Oxide of Manganese, Silica, Chlorine, 
Sulphuric Acid (oil of vitriol), and Phosphoric Acid. 

Here is a list of Avhat may seem very hard names, 
but neither the farmer nor the scholar must be fright- 
ened at them : when he has once seen the substances 
to which they belong, and has learned by experience 
their more important properties, he will perceive that 
he is really able to comprehend something about them, 
and will at once recover from the feeling of dread and 
aversion which they at first excited. There may be 
some consolation, too, in the knowledge that the above 
list comprises the greater portion of the new words 
which will be employed in the succeeding chapters of 
this little work. We will then now commence with 
good courage, and notice each of these inorganic 
substances separately. 

Potash is well known as the extract by water from 
wood ashes, boiled down to dryness, a. It attracts 
moisture from the air when strong, and, if touched to 
the tono;ue, causes an acrid burnino; sensation called 
by chemists an alkaline taste: it is often strong enough 
to destroy the skin, and may be purified to such a 
strength as to corrode almost every perishable sub- 
stance, h. When purified in the ordinary way, potash 
forms pearlash, which is simply potash deprived of the 
foreign bodies with which it was contaminated, and 
carbonated or combined with carbonic acid : in this 
state it is nearly white, c. Potash is quite abundant 
in plants ; more so in some classes than others. It is 
injurious to some kinds of weeds, or at least is used 
to extirpate them by bringing in better kinds. 



^ 



SODA, LIME AND MAGNESIA. 17 

Soda, We do not often see this substance by itself, 
but almost always in combination with other bodies. 
a. Some of the more common of these are carbonate of 
soda, that is, the common washing soda of the shops; 
and chloride of sodium, that is, common salt. Both 
of these compounds contain a large proportion of soda. 
h. It is white, and when pure has the same attraction 
for water, the same caustic and burning taste, as pot- 
ash; in fact the two are much alike in many of their 
properties, and also in the purposes %vhich they seem 
to serve in plants. 

Lime is a very common substance, and is well 
known in all its usual forms, a. As quick or caustic 
lime, it is of a white color, having a strong burning 
taste, and powerful caustic properties. It absorbs large 
quantities of water, and at the same time becomes hot, 
falling into a fine powder. Fresh burned lime, when 
exposed to the air, does not remain long in this caustic 
state, but drinks in moisture and crumbles gradually 
away. h. In nature it is always found combined with 
some other body, as, for instance, the common lime- 
stone (carbonate of lime), or the sulphate of lime 
(gypsum, or plaster of Paris), which are both most 
abundant rocks. Common limestone or marble, when 
burned, becomes quicklime. The phenomena of slaking 
quicklime are easily shown and explained. Every ton 
of quicklime, during slaking, absorbs one-fourth of a 
ton of water, which becomes a part of the stone itself. 

Magnesia is not so well known as lime, although it 
is abundant on the earth's surface and in many rocks. 
a. The most common and easily obtained form is the 
calcined magnesia of the shops. This is a light, 
wiiite, tasteless substance, familiar to all who use much 
medicine. Epsom salts, so much in vogue as a me- 
dical prescription, is another compound of magnesia. 

h. When burned, mag^nesia has somethino; of the caustif* 

2* 



18 IRON. 

properties of lime, but not by any means to the same 
extent. It is a constituent of many rocks, and par- 
ticularly of one class of limestones, hence called mag- 
nesian limestones, or sometimes dolomites. Although 
magnesia is necessary to plants, it is found that too 
great a quantity of lime made from these dolomites is 
decidedly injurious to crops. 

Iron, in its metallic state, presents an appearance 
that must be familiar to all. This metallic state, 
however, that of a hard bluish gray substance, is not 
found in nature. The metal, as extracted from the 
ore beds and mines, is always in combination or union 
with some other body. a. Most commonly it is united 
with oxygen, forming what are called oxides. Metallic 
iron has a strong tendency to form these oxides. Every 
one knows that if bright iron be exposed to the air 
for any length of time without protection, it speedily 
becomes covered with rust, particularly if the place 
where it lies be damp. The farmer finds that his bright 
plough, exposed to a shower or to a night's dew, be- 
comes streaked with rust. This rust is an oxide of 
iron; that is, a portion of the metal has united with 
a portion of oxygen from the air, and has thus formed 
this new compound. 

0. There is more than one oxide of iron, but that 
which is usually found in plants, and which is common- 
ly known under the name of iron rust, is called by 
chemists the peroxide -of iron; this is to distinguish it 
from another oxide, to which we shall have occasion 
to allude in a subsequent chapter. From such a dis- 
tinction being made, the inference will naturally and 
correctly be drawn, that the oxygen and the iron unite 
in definite proportions: a certain quantity of iron unites 
with a certain quantity of oxygen, to form the per- 
oxide; if the proportions are altered, we have some 
(ither oxide. Where, however, there is an abundance 



OXIDE OF MANGANESE, AND SILICA. 19 

of oxygen, it is always the peroxide that is formed : 
hence we invariably find this oxide on exposed iron 
surfaces, and in plants. 

The substances hitherto described have all been 
those that are found quite abundantly; but that which 
is now to be mentioned, the Oxide of Manganese, is 
more rare. Many species of our cultivated plants are 
found to be without it in their ash far more often than 
with it; and when it is present in the soil, we can 
not, from any experiments hitherto made, see that 
their growth is more luxuriant. In some trees it is said 
to exist abundantly; but for the ash of our cultivated 
crops generally, I am inclined to think that it can 
scarcely be considered an indispensable constituent. 
Manganese is a metal somewhat resembling iron, but 
much less abundant. It also is always found in some 
compound form, never as a pure metal. It forms 
oxides with oxygen; and one of these, the black 
oxide, is of much value in certain manufacturing pro- 
cesses. For these purposes, it is mined whenever it is 
found in large quantity. This black oxide may easily 
be obtained and shown to a class. As it is now large- 
ly used in some manufactures, it is a cheap article. 

Silica is a substance that exists abundantly in almost 
all plants, often forming more than half of the whole 
ash. a. We see a nearly pure form of it in the com- 
mon quartz crystals, or agate, or cornelian, or flint : 
these all consist almost entirely of silica. Specimens 
of silica, in some form, may be found in almost every 
neighborhood, as it is one of the most common minerals. 
When perfectly pure, it is a very hard, white sub- 
stance, tasteless, and quite difficult to melt. The fine 
grains in ordinary sandstones are particles of silica. 
h. It is not dissolved in water, and even strong acids 
produce little effect : how singular then that it should 
be found so abundantly in the interior of plants! 



20 CHLORINE. 

Chlorine is a kind of gas. It is easily prepared by 
mixing a little muriatic acid with some of the com- 
mercial black oxide of manganese; a gentle heat being 
then applied, chlorine is given off, and is conducted 
into receivers in the manner before described under 
oxygen and hydrogen, a. Water, when cold, absorbs it 
largely, and therefore the water in the receptacle where 
the gas is collected should be hot. h. It is, however, 
so much heavier than common air, that it may be col- 
lected in sufficient quantity by carrying the conducting 
tube to the bottom of a jar or bottle. The top being 
partially covered, so as to prevent too free access of 
air and consequent agitation, the vessel can be filled 
with chlorine as readily as with water, c. If the glass 
is white, it will be perceived that the chlorine now 
filling it is of a decided green color. 

d. The sense of smell should be tested cautiously in 
this case, as the gas has a most suffocating and dis- 
tressing effect when inhaled even in small quantity. 
The consequences of a single breath of it taken by 
mistake, are often felt for days in its irritating effect 
upon the lungs and throat. The method of collection 
last mentioned will show that it is heavier than 
common air, but this may be farther illustrated by 
pouring it from one glass into another. 

e. Phosphorus takes fire spontaneously in this gas, 
and so do several of the metals when powdered, anti- 
mony for instance. A taper plunged into it burns at 
first with an enlarged red smoky flame, but soon goes 
out. 

f. Chlorine has a peculiar power of bleaching, and 
is used very largely in the arts for such purposes. Al- 
most any of the ordinary calicoes may be bleached by 
placing them in water saturated with it. The color 
of red cabbage liquor is very easily destroyed by a 
very small quantity. 

g. It unites with soda, one of the bodies already 



SULPHURIC ACID. 21 

meritioned, and forms common salt, a substance having 
harmless properties in itself, and differing most widely 
from either of those out of which it is formed. 

Sulphuric acid is the common oil of vitriol, a. It 
has commonly been called an oil, because of its thick 
oily appearance, but has few other properties of oils. 
[t is, like them, rather soft and agreeable in its first 
feeling upon the skin, but this sensation is instantly 
succeeded by an intense burning pain; for the acid is 
so powerful in its corrosive effects, as to destroy both 
skin and flesh wherever it touches. Cloth is at once 
ruined by it, eaten out in holes. A very small quan- 
tity taken into the mouth and swallowed is fatal, as 
all of the internal passages are destroyed or seriously 
injured by its contact. There have been many cases 
of death from accidentally swallowing even so small 
a portion as part of a spoonful. 

h. The name acid would naturally cause us to sup- 
pose that this liquid would be sour; and a taste of it 
even when largely diluted with water, shows it to be 
so in the extreme. When thus diluted, so that the skin 
may not be at all affected, it is not poisonous, and has 
a rather agreeable taste. 

h. If paper saturated with blue litmus, a substance to 
be found in many apothecaries' shops, be dipped into 
this or other acids, it will become red : if the paper 
thus turned red be dipped into a solution of potash or 
soda or ammonia, it will become blue again. This 
furnishes a test by means of which we can tell whether 
fluids are acid or alkaline. 

c. Sulphuric acid is occasionally found in springs, 
uncombined with any thing. There are some in 
western New York, near Lockport, where the w^ater as 
it comes from the spring is sour as vinegar, owing to 
the presence of free sulphuric acid. 

d. This is a much heavier liquid than water. A 



•22 SULPHURIC AND PHOSPHORIC ACIBS, 

stream of it poured gently into a cup of water from a 
small distance above the surface, can be seen to sink 
directly to the bottom. When agitated so as to mingle 
it with the water, the mixture becomes quite hot, be- 
cause a chemical union takes place between the two 
liquids. 

e. This acid, except in such cases as the above, is 
always found in a state of combination with some other 
substance, and then can not be recognized by any of 
the properties which I have mentioned. In some of 
these forms of combination, it is very abundant. One 
of them, and an important one to the farmer, is gyp- 
sum, or plaster of Paris. This, as is well known, is a 
solid, and has no acid taste : it, however, consists of 
sulphuric acid united with lime, forming what is termed 
by chemists sulphate of lime. In every 100 lbs. of 
plaster of Paris are about 33 lbs. of sulphuric acid, 
46 lbs. of lime, and 21 lbs. of w^ater. 

Epsom salts consist of sulphuric acid and magnesia; 
alum, of sulphuric acid, alumina and potash. From 
all of these the acid can be separated by chemical 
means. It is used largely for various manufacturing 
purposes, and is made by l3urning sulphur (brimstone), 
with certain precautions, in large leaden chambers. 
This acid will be subsequently seen to be a substance 
of great importance for various purposes in agriculture. 

Not less important is the next body on our list, 
phosphoric acid. It is also very sour, and is usually 
seen as a white pow^der. If a stick of phosphorus is 
burned, white fumes are seen to rise in large quantity. 
The phosphorus unites while burning with the oxygen 
of the air, and forms phosphoric acid. If these white 
fumes are passed through water, it w^ill become sour, 
as it dissolves the acid : they may also be condensed 
on a cold glass plate. 

a. This body can be shown in a yet simpler manner 



DIFFERENCES IN THE ASH OF PLANTS. 23 

by burning a common locofoco match : the white 
smoke which goes off at first before the sulphur ig- 
nites, is phosphoric acid. Phosphorus is used in the 
making of these matches, because it is a substance that 
inflames easily by a little friction. All who have rub- 
bed them on a wall or board in the dark, have observed 
that they leave a quite bright, luminous trace, distinctly 
visible. If the match fails to ignite, the end of it will 
also appear bright, and the peculiar smell of phos- 
phorus may be perceived. 

Phosphoric acid does not seem to exist in so large 
quantity as sulphuric acid, as it does not constitute a 
principal portion of any of our rocks. It forms a very 
important part of the bones of animals. 

SECTION II. DIFFERENCES IN THE ASH OF CULTIVATED 

PLANTS. 

We have now noticed each of the substances that 
were named as occurring in the inorganic part of 
plants, and have given such of their more remarkable 
properties and. more common forms of appearance as 
seemed necessary to their recognition by the practical 
man. 

It has been already stated, that with one or two 
occasional exceptions, they are all found in the ash of 
cultivated plants. Sometimes one and sometimes an- 
other is absent, but generally we find small quantities 
of nearly all. It does not follow from this, how^ever, 
that every plant contains the same quantity of ash. 
The trunk of a tree, for instance, if deprived of its 
bark, does not yield more than from one to two pounds 
of ash in one hundred of wood, while the stalk of grass 
or straw of grain frequently contains from 6 to 14 lbs. 
in 100. There are some plants which scarcely con- 
tain any ash whatever, and others in which it forms a 
large proportion. This difference exists not only be- 



24 DIFFERENCES IN THE ASH OF PLANTS. 

tween various plants, but between the parts of the 
same plant. 

If we examine the straw of wheat, we find usually 
6 or 7 per cent of ash; the leaf contains 7 or 8 per cent, 
and the grain not more than 1 or 2 per cent. So in 
turnips or beets, the dried roots have no more than 
from 1 to 2 per cent of ash, while the dried leaves 
often leave from 20 to 30. These facts are to be 
remembered. 

When w^e pursue our researches a step further, and 
separate the substances which make up the ash of dif- 
ferent plants, we find that here also is a great variation. 
The ash of potatoes is more than half potash, while the 
ash in the grain of wheat contains much less potash, 
but is about half phosphoric acid. The ash of clover 
and lucerne often contains twice as much lime as that 
of herdsgrass or timothy hay. 

We may thus divide plants into classes according 
to the composition of their ash. In the ash from the 
seed of wheat and all of our cultivated grains, phos- 
phoric acid is the leading ingredient; in that from 
turnips, beets and other roots, it is much less, while the 
alkalies potash and soda increase; in the tubers of the 
potato they constitute more than half; in the grasses, 
lime and silica are more abundant, and in some, as 
the clovers, lime becomes a leading substance; in the 
stems of most trees lime abounds yet more, and in many 
cases exceeds in quantity any thing else. These facts 
have a marked bearing on many practical points which 
we have yet to consider. 

It was stated that the quantity of ash varied in 
different parts of the same plant, as, for example, in 
the straw and the grain of wheat. This variation in 
quantity is not more marked than that in the com- 
position of these two ashes. In the ash of the straw 
w^e find that there is a great proportion of silica, and 
very little phosphoric acid; while in that of the grain, 



KECAPITULA^.^-N Or FACTS. 25 

more than half is phosphoric acid, and there is scarcely 
any silica. When we come to consider the purposes 
for which these parts are intended, the cause of such 
variations will be plainly perceived. We even find in 
many plants a distinction between the composition of 
the ash at the bottom of the stalk, and that at the top. 
In all cases the ash from the husk which covers the 
seed, as in oats, barley or buckwheat, differs exceed- 
ingly in its constitution from that of the seed itself. 
We shall in subsequent chapters see what is the cha- 
racter of this difference, and understand at least a part 
of the reasons for it. 

We have now called attention to several valuable 
facts respecting the inorganic part or ash of plants : 

1. All of the inorganic substances described are 
generally present in our cultivated crops, but not in- 
variably : sometimes one or two are absent. 

2. The quantity of ash yielded by different plants 
varies. 

3. The composition of this ash also varies, and in 
as great a degree as the quantity. 

4. This applies not only to different kinds of plants, 
but to different parts of the same plant. 

Upon these four points depend many of the' most 
important discoveries in agriculture, and we shall find 
them connected very intimately w^ith all of the leading 
subjects which are yet to engage our attention. Let 
the reader, then, before proceeding farther, understand 
them thoroughly and impress them upon his memory. 



S 



26 



CHAPTER III. 

SOURCES OF THE FOOD OF PLANTS. 

Organic food-, derived from the soil in forms of combination 
chiefly. Carbonic acid gas: proportion present in the atmo- 
sphere : absorbed through pores in the leaves : decomposed in 
the leaf, and oxygen given off during daylight. Organic acids 
in soils. Sources of hydrogen and oxygen ; of nitrogen. 
Ammonia. Nitric acid. 

SECTION I, ORGANIC FOOD OF PLANTS. 

Having named and described the various substances 
from which the ash of plants is made up, and which 
may therefore be considered their inorganic food, w^e 
must now see what are the sources of their inorganic 
as well as of their organic food. 

An organic and an inorganic part being absolutely 
essential to the existence of every perfect plant, it 
becomes necessary that the farmer should know where 
the different bodies come from, that are to make up 
these parts. This knowledge is of advantage, as en- 
abling him to increase natural sources of supply, or to 
devise artificial means of furnishing what is deficient. 

It is quite clear that a plant which is to grow 
rapidly, must have a constant supply of the two classes 
of food, and, moreover, that this supply must be pre- 
sented in a shape immediately available. It is of no 
use to the crops of the present season, to say to them 
that there is an abundant supply of manure in the 
barnyard : they want it near their roots, and will not 
flourish without it there. So of all other things re- 
quired in the soil, they must not only be present, but 



• FOOD FROM THE SOIL AND FROM THE AIR. i>7 

must be in a soluble state, capable of immediate 
employment in building up the plant. The farmer, 
then, who knows best what is needed, knows how to 
furnish it so as to have the best crops, and at the least 
expense. 

An examination of the leaves and of the roots of 
a living plant, shows that it obtains a portion of its 
food from the air, and a portion from the earth. 

a. Inorganic food, consisting as it does of solid 
bodies, does not of course exist in the air, and must 
therefore all be taken in through the roots. 

h. The organic food comes partly from the soil, and 
partly from the air through the leaves. It may be 
asked, How we know that plants get food through 
their leaves? This is easily proved. If we place the 
stem and leaves of a growing plant in a portion of 
confined air, the composition of which is known, and 
that air be reexamined by means of chemical tests a 
day or two afterward, it will be found that its com- 
position has changed: a portion of it has disappeared, 
having been absorbed by the plant through its leaves. 

c. If the confined air, for instance, contained car- 
bonic acid, a portion has gone, and its place is supplied 
by oxygen. 

d. If there is no carbonic acid present in the water 
or air, the action will not go on. The importance of 
these facts wall soon be perceived. 

We have seen something of the forms in which 
plants may receive their inorganic foodj that it is not 
usually as simple substances, but in some forms of 
combination. Thus potash does not enter the roots as 
potash alone, but as sulphate or carbonate or silicate 
of potash; that is, in combination with sulphuric acid, 
or carbonic acid, or silica. So it is with organic food; 
the four gases which we have examined do not or- 
dinarily minister in their simple state to the growth 
of plants, but, as do the inorganic substances, in some 
form of combination. 



28 CARBONIC ACID GAS. 



SECTION II. CARBONIC ACID, ITS SOURCES AND PRINCIPAL 

PROPERTIES. 

One of the most important of these combinations is 
known to chemists as carbonic acid gas. This gas is 
very abundant in nature, and combines with many 
solid substances, forming what are called carbonates. 

a. Common limestone is a carbonate of lime; and 
if muriatic acid be poured upon it, a violent efferves- 
cence takes place, caused by the escape of this gas. 

h. So in the common soda powers, the soda is a 
carbonate of soda; and when tartaric acid is added, a 
violent effervescence ensues, as all have often seen. 
This too results from the escape of carbonic acid gas. 

c. It causes the froth on beer, and on the surface of 
all fermenting liquids. 

It is easily collected in glass receivers over water, 
in the same way as heretofore described. Pouring 
muriatic acid upon common limestone powdered, or 
upon carbonate of soda, is a convenient and cheap 
method of obtaining this gas. If it be done in a tall 
glass or wide-mouthed bottle, the gas will rise and 
fill the bottle, so that its properties may be examined. 

1. The first thing apparent will be, that a lighted 
taper plunged into the bottle is instantly extinguished; 
thus showing that the gas neither inflames itself, nor 
supports combustion. 

2. It will be perceived that carbonic acid gas is 
heavier than common air. It does not rise and mingle 
with the air, but fills the vessel like water. The taper 
will burn freely until it reaches its surface, and for a 
moment even after the lower part of the flame is im- 
mersed. When the vessel is full, the gas, in place of 
rising, flows over the edge and downward as water 
would do. It may be poured from a vessel upon a 
candle or tnper so as to extinguish it, provided that 



COMPOSITION OF CARBONIC ACID. 29 

there be no strong draft to sweep it away. It may in 
this manner be transferred from one vessel to another. 

3. A third important property of this gas is, that 
all animals compelled to breathe it instantly fall, and 
in a very few moments die. This may be shown by 
placing a mouse or other small animal in an atmo- 
sphere of it. Owing to its weight, it sometimes ac- 
cumulates in sheltered hollows, and is the cause of 
fatal accidents. In brewers' vats when fermentation 
takes place, and in some w^ells, it is apt to collect, and 
persons lowered incautiously to clean them suddenly 
fall insensible. All danger maybe avoided by simply 
lowering a lighted candle before any one goes dow^n: 
if the candle burns freely at the bottom, there is no 
risk in descending. 

This gas consists of carbon and oxygen; 6 lbs. of 
carbon and 16 lbs. of oxygen forming 22 lbs. of car- 
bonic acid. Chemists call it carbon 1 and oxygen 2. 
It is easy to prove this fact by burning charcoal, which 
it will be remembered is one form of carbon, in a jar 
of pure oxygen gas. When the charcoal has ceased 
to burn, the air remaining in the jar will be carbonic 
acid; as carbon and oxygen were the only two sub- 
stances present, the carbonic acid must plainly have 
been formed by their union in certain proportions. 

This is another instance of those strange chemical 
changes in the properties of bodies, w^th which all 
who study this subject soon become familiar. Carbon, 
a hard inflammable solid, unites with oxygen, a light 
gas, supporting combustion and animal life in a most 
remarkable degree ; to form another kind of gas, having 
a much greater weight, entirely incombustible, and, 
when unmixed w^ith air, destructive to almost every 
form of life. 

Carbonic acid exists naturally in very large quantity. 
It is invariably present in the atmosphere. For a 

long time this was thought to be accidental, but later 

3# 



30 CARBONIC ACID PRESENT IN THE ATMOSPHERE. 

experiments have shown that it is always there in very 
nearly the same proportion. This proportion is quite 
small, being only o^^'otj^^ °^ ^^^ whole bulk, or about 
y Q^gyth of the whole weight. It seems insignificant, 
too much so to be noticed; but when we come to cal- 
culate from the known weight of the atmosphere on 
each foot of the earth's surface, we find that there is in 
the air over each acre of ground about seven tons of 
this gas. This is a considerable quantity, and, when 
calculated over the whole surface of the earth, amounts 
to billions of tons. It is found to be just graduated 
to the wants of both plants and animals. All living 
things, as has been said, die in an atmosphere w^hich 
contains a large proportion of this gas. Plants, 
however, require a certain portion of it to be spread 
through the air, that they may draw it in through their 
leaves. This is necessary to their life, as they will 
not live for any length of time in an atmosphere w^here 
there is no carbonic acid gas, and will not flourish if 
the proportion of og^o ^th be greatly reduced. On the 
other hand, if this proportion be much increased, if 
more carbonic acid be introduced into the air, the effect 
is also injurious. The proportion of carbonic acid 
may with benefit be increased, according to some 
experiments, so long as the sun shines and daylight 
continues. When the sun goes down, however, and 
darkness comes over the earth, more of this gas than 
is usually present does harm. We see then that the 
Creator has regulated the quantity of carbonic acid, so 
that there is just enough for the necessities of the plant, 
and not so much as to injure either plants or animals, 
while at the same time regard has been had to the 
alternations of day and night. 



PORES IN THE LEAVES OF PLANTS. 31 

SECTION in. CARBONIC ACID GAS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AB- 
SORBED AND DECOMPOSED BY THE LEAVES OF PLANTS. 

It has been said that this gas is necessary to the 
life of the plant, and that the leaves draw it in from 
the air. Those who have never studied the structure 
of the leaf, will be surprised to find how admirably 
it is adapted to this purpose. AVhen examined by a 
microscope, its whole surface is seen to be covered 
with minute pores, both above and beneath : each of 
these pores is a species of mouth, intended to receive 
food, or to give olf something that the plant no longer 
requires. These pores have an immense vai'iety of 
shapes and sizes in different leaves, as show^n by the 
microscope. A high magnifying power discovers more 
than 170,000 openings in a square inch upon the surface 
of some leaves : others have not more than 6 or 700. 

It is easy for any person to satisfy himself that such 
pores do actually exist, and that the different sides of 
the same leaf have different properties. A common 
cabbage leaf, for instance, when applied with the under 
side to a wound or cut, will draw quite powerfully, 
inducing a discharge, while the upper or smooth side 
will produce no such effect; thus showing that on the 
under side are pores which have a power of absorption. 

If the leaves were few in number and very small, it 
would be difficult for them to collect enough carbonic 
acid from the air; but we find that all plants which 
grow rapidly have either quite large leaves, or a great 
number of small ones. Thus they are able to expose 
a great extent of surface to the passing wind, and to 
draw from it as much food in the shape of carbonic 
acid as they require. It has been found that very 
quick growing plants, such as grape vines, melons, 
indian corn, etc., when in full growth, will absorb as 
it passes nearly all of the carbonic acid from quite a 
swift current of air, so that only very slight traces of 



32 LEAVES ABSORB CARBONIC ACID DURING DAYLIGHT. 

it can afterwards be found. How active must every 
little mouth on the leaf be at such a time ! 

a. The effect of the carbonic acid thus absorbed, is 
to hasten the growth of the plant by furnishing part 
of the material from w^hich its stalks, stems, leaves, 
etc., are composed. But it may be asked, is the whole 
of the carbonic acid used, or only a part? We re- 
member that it is composed of two substances, oxygen 
and carbon; are both of these, or only one, retained? 

h. It is not difficult for the reader to satisfy himself 
on this point. If the leaves of a flourishing growing 
plant be immersed in an inverted vessel full of w^ater, 
and exposed to the rays of the sun, little bubbles of 
air will gradually begin to form, and to increase in 
size until they rise and collect in the upper part of the 
vessel. If fresh branches be occasionally placed in 
the water, and the operation thus continued for a time, 
enough air will be collected for purposes of experi- 
ment. It will then be found that this air, which has 
thus escaped from the surface of the leaves, show^s all 
of the properties which were described under oxygen. 
It is in fact pure oxygen, thus showing that the carbon 
of the carbonic acid is retained in the plant to con- 
stitute a portion of its bulk, while the oxygen goes off 
through the pores of the leaf. The pores in the under 
side of the leaf usually effect the absorption, the de- 
composition goes on in the interior, and the oxygen is 
given off through the pores on the upper part. These 
pores have for their office to give off, while that of the 
others is to receive. Some plants will live for a long 
time if the under surface of the leaves is kept con- 
stantly wet; if the upper only be wet, the plant soon 
dies. If either surface be varnished, so as to stop the 
pores, great injury results. 

During daylight the leaves are constantly absorbing 
carbonic acid, and giving off oxygen; but as soon as 



CARBON OBTALXED FROM THE SOIL. 33 

the sun goes down, a change takes place : an exami- 
nation will now show that it is carbonic acid which 
passes off from the leaves, and oxygen that is being 
absorbed. It is just the reverse of what goes on during 
the day. 

a. This curious fact shows why it is that plants 
grow so rapidly in the long days of summer. The 
nights are then comparatively a small portion of the 
day, so that for by far the greater part of the twenty- 
four hours the plant continues to absorb carbonic acid, 
and to build itself up with the carbon thus obtained 

h. In Greenland and Kamschatka the summer is not 
more than two or three months, but during that time 
it is always daylight, the sun scarcely going below 
the horizon at all. Certain plants are thus enabled 
to grow so fast as to mature and ripen their seed, even 
in that short summer. We see how this beautiful 
provision of nature tends to equalize different climates. 
If the nights of the short Greenland summers were 
even so long as our shortest, their crops would never 
ripen; but as they have nearly perpetual day, they can 
get enough food from their fields to sustain life during 
a large part of their long winter. 

SECTION IV. CARBON ALSO OBTAINED BY PLANTS FROM 

THE SOIL. 

We see that plants are able to obtain much carbon 
from the air, but it is found that a considerable quan- 
tity comes from the soil also. This is all, in one form 
or another, drawn in through the roots. The rain 
vrater which falls upon the surface, and all of the 
spring water found there already, contains some car- 
bonic acid dissolved. This water entering the roots, 
carries with it a variety of substances in solution, 
which the plant seems to use or not as it may require: 
among these is carbonic acid. This is probably the 



34 HUMUS AND HUMIC ACID. 

chief form in which carbon is obtained from the soil; 
but there exist in contact with the roots, other sources 
of this important article of food. Every soil contains 
more or less of organic matter, derived from the decay 
after death of plants and animals. Where abundant, 
this gives a black color to the soil, and one containing 
a large proportion of it is frequently described by 
farmers as a vegetable mould. While plants, etc. are 
decaying to form this mould, various compounds con- 
taining carbon are the result. Quite a number of 
these have been examined by chemists, but it is not 
necessary to say much of them here. 

a. Humus is a name often given to the black mould 
of a rich vegetable soil, and this probably because a 
great part of the mould consists of a substance called 
hwnic acid. This acid may be obtained by boiling 
some rich mould or peat in a solution of common soda, 
continuing for an hour or two; fdtering through a 
piece of blotting paper, and then making the liquid 
quite sour with muriatic acid. Little brown flocks 
will soon begin to appear, and will fall to the bottom: 
these are humic acid. 

h. This substance may serve as a specimen of a 
large class that are contained in the organic part of 
the soil. They all consist of carbon, oxygen and 
hydrogen, and in many situations are extremely 
abundant. They do not decay or dissolve very easily, 
and it is not supposed that plants get a large part of 
their carbon in this way. It seems certain, however, 
that they do get some; and it is found that in most 
cases where soils contain much of this organic matter, 
they are quite fertile. In all ordinary situations, it is 
supposed that at least two-thirds of the carbon in plants 
comes from the air, the remaining third in various 
forms from the soil. This is shown by the fact that 
plants cultivated year after year, cause the organic 
matter of a soil to diminish quite rapidly. 



PLANTS DECOMPOSE WATER. 35 

SECTION V. SOURCE OF THE OXYGEN AND HYDROGEN OF 

PLANTS. 

Beside carbonic acid, the leaves of plants absorb 
through their pores a large quantity of water. During 
the day when the hot sun is upon them, the evapora- 
tion is of course far more than the absorption, and in 
a dry time the leaves may be seen to droop in the 
afternoon; but let the sun be obscured and the atmo- 
sphere become misty and damp, and they soon absorb 
enough moisture to strengthen their failing stems. 
Every farmer knows that a light shower, which only 
moistens the leaves Avithout wetting the ground at all, 
will revive his crops for many hours. Nothing in this 
case can have been taken in through the roots. 

Water, as has been said, is composed of oxygen and 
hydrogen. These two bodies are needed by the plant, 
and water is consequently not only of service in mois- 
tening its various parts and furnishing a circulating 
fluid, but gives its oxygen or its hydrogen or both, as 
the plant may happen to require. Water has a pe- 
culiar adaptation to this purpose, and to others equally 
useful in the interior of the plant, in the facility with 
which it is decomposed. Carbonic acid and other 
chemical substances only decompose with great dif- 
ficulty; but the elements of w^ater, a substance so 
universally diffused and so indispensable, separate 
easily, affording hydrogen here, oxygen there, to the 
necessities of the plant. 

SECTION VL SOURCES OF THE NITROGEN OF PLANTS. 

We have now seen how the plant gets carbon, 
hydrogen and oxygen in abundance; but there is yet 
one more of the organic bodies, w^hich are so necessary 
to them: this is nitrogen; it remains for us to consider 
the most probable source of this gas. a. As it has 



36 PLANTS DO NOT OBTAIN NITROGEN FROM THE AIR. 

been said that the atmosphere consists of oxygen and 
nitrogen, we might naturally conceive that the leaves 
absorb this gas, as well as carbonic acid. Experiments 
have shown that this is not the case to any extent. 
After many careful trials, it has not yet been certainly 
proved that any nitrogen at all is obtained by the 
greater number of plants in this way. If there is, the 
quantity must be in most cases very trifling indeed. 

b. This is one of the most remarkable points con- 
nected with the nutrition of plants. Here we have, 
in the air which surrounds the plant, and presses 
against every part of it, an immense quantity of the 
gas nitrogen. It constitutes four-fifths of the whole 
atmosphere, and yet we cannot find that plants absorb 
it in any quantity whatever. On the contrary, as we 
have seen, they select out another kind of gas, car- 
bonic acid, although it is present in so small a pro- 
portion as o 5^0^^' This shows conclusively that the 
leaves do not draw in through their pores every thing 
that is presented to them indiscriminately, but that 
they have a power of choosing those kinds of food 
best adapted to their wants. 

c. Thus the smallest plant has the power of doing 
what man by his unaided senses never has been able 
to accomplish, and which he has only learned to do 
by artificial means within a few years. Every little 
worthless weed by the wayside has its leaves spread, 
its thousands of mouths open, selecting and drawling 
in from the passing air food best adapted to its wants. 

As plants obtain, according to the above statements, 
little if any of their nitrogen from the air directly 
through their leaves, they must obviously get it in 
some way through their roots. There are two bodies 
which are now considered the chief sources of supply: 
these are called ammonia and nitric acid. 

Ammonia is a gas, composed of nitrogen and hy- 
drogen. We do not find it largely in this shape, 



AMMONIA AND NITRIC ACID. 37 

however, on account of the strong tendency which it 
has to unite with other bodies, such as carbonic acid, 
sulphuric acid, etc. When it can not find any thing 
else, it is at once absorbed by water, which will take 
up an immense quantity of it before becoming satu- 
rated. A pint of cold water will absorb between 6 
and 700 pints of ammonia. The aqua ammonia of 
the shops, is water through which ammonia has been 
passed until it is very strong. By smelling of it, the 
extremely pungent and peculiar odor of ammonia is 
perceived. The strong aqua ammonia is so powerful 
in its effects as to take away the breath, and cause a 
momentary suffocation. A more agreeable form of 
ammoniacal odor is in the ordinary smelling salts. 
These are usually nothing more than carbonate of am- 
monia, scented in various ways with other perfumes. 

The properties of ammonia ought to be understood 
by every farmer, because it is a substance of much 
importance : it does not exist so abundantly in the 
soil as do many or most other necessary ingredients, 
and consequently he ought to know how best to in- 
crease its amount, and how to keep it on his farm 
when he has got it there. 

Ammonia is very easily lost, because driven from 
its combinations with great facility. If, for instance, 
you mix with muriate of ammonia, a compound which 
has little or no smell of the gas, some quicklime, and 
rub the two together, there will immediately a strong 
smell of ammonia be perceived, passing off into the air i 
and disappearing. This is a reason why quicklime I 
should not be mixed w^th manures containing am- * 
monia, as that gas is driven off by it, and the value ] 
of the manure greatly diminished. 

Nitric acid (common aquafortis) is another impor- 
tant source of nitrogen. This acid is composed of 
nitrogen and oxygen. It is to be found in druggists' 
shops, and is a nearly colorless liquid, having; a pe- 



38 NITRATES OP^ POTASH AND SODA. 

culiar smell, and being extremely sour and corrosive. 
a. When strong, it destroys the skin, and in all cases 
turns it of a deep yellow color which can not be re- 
moved by washing, b. It eats holes through cloth, 
turning it to a bright red color, c. Like ammonia 
and the acids before mentioned, we do not find it 
naturally as a pure substance; it is always combined 
with something else. One of the most common forms 
V is nitrate of potash, or saltpetre. Nitrate of soda is 
also often found in nature, d. In South America, this 
latter is so abundant as to be brought away by the 
shipload. It is in the form of such compounds as these 
that nitric acid is present in the soil. They are easily 
dissolved in water, can be received into the circulation 
of plants through their roots, and can furnish nitrogen 
as readily as ammonia. 

In some situations more nitrogen is received into 
the plant as ammonia, than from any other source; in 
others, more as nitric acid. I consider that this is 
owing simply to the quantity of either that may be 
present in different localities. Both kinds of manure 
produce remarkable results when applied to the soil of 
most farms; and these effects are nearly or quite 
identical in appearance, showing that in both cases 
nitrogen caused the improvement, and that between 
these two forms of applying it there is little choice. 



V 



39 



CHAPTER IV. 

OF THE ORGANIC SUBSTANCE OF PLANTS. 

Structure of the Roots, Stem and Leaves. Course of the sap. 
Composition and properties of water. Great number of organic 
bodies. W()ody fibre, Starch, Sugar, Gums. Composition of 
these bodies and their mutual relations. Organic substances 
containing Nitrogen. Sources of organic elements: Carbon, 
Carbonic acid, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen. 

SECTION I. STRUCTUKE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE PLANT IN 
ITS SEVERAL PARTS. 

The different external parts of plants are well 
known, they consist of roots, stems, bark or epider- 
mis, and leaves. 

The internal structure and the functions of the roots 
are not so perfectly understood as that of the other 
parts, owing to the difficulty of knowing exactly what 
occurs underground. At a short distance beneath the 
surface they begin to divide, sending out little rootlets 
in every direction, and at the extreme end of each is 
a small bundle of soft, minute, white fibres. These 
are all so many mouths for the nourishment of the 
stem. If you place the roots of a growing tree in 
certain colored liquids, its body will soon become 
colored. This part of the plant has, to a considerable 
extent at least, a power of selection, as it is found 
that certain substances are admitted to the exclusion, 
either partial or total, of others. Some coloring solu- 
tions for instance, as above, enter with facility and 
tinge the whole stem in a short time, while others are 
scarcely absorbed at all. The same must, in a degree, 



40 STEM AND BAKK OF TLANTS. 

be true of various kinds of food, as we find that lar 
more of one kind is taken than of another, even when 
both are present in equal quantities. 

In the ste7n are numerous little tubes, running up 
and down, w^hich serve to convey the sap absorbed by 
the roots up to the leaves. It passes up in the interior 
vessels or tubes, and passes down in the exterior, or 
just under the bark. This can be shown by the ex- 
ample of the tree and the colored fluid, just referred 
to; the inner part of the tree will be colored first, and 
finally the outer, in the descent of the sap, after it has 
passed out to the extremities of the branches. 

There is then a regular circulation between the soil 
and the plant; sap flows up, having been formed in 
the roots and stem, out of the various substances 
drawn in from the soil, and ultimately flows down 
again next the bark and out into the soil. 

During its circuit the sap undergoes many changes, 
and deposits such of its constituents as are necessary 
to the plant. If taken from the lower part of the 
stem, it will be found thin; as it goes up, it appears 
thicker and thicker, and at last on its way down be- 
comes a dense substance, to which the name of cam- 
bium has sometimes been given. At this period of 
its round, it deposites, between the inner bark and 
the wood, material for forming the annual layer of 
ncAV wood. The cause of this ascent and descent of 
sap is not fully known, and I do not consider it neces- 
sary to mention here the numerous plausible theories 
that have been advanced regarding it. If the flow is 
entirely stopped, either upward or downw^ard, the 
plant soon dies. This is shown by the ordinary opera- 
tion of girdling a tree, the downward flow is stopped 
and no new w^ood can form. 

The hark is quite different in its structure from the 
stem. In the latter part, as will be remembered, the 
little tubes run i:)erpf'ndicu]arly, or straight up and 



ORGANIC BODIES IN PLANTS. 41 

down; in the bark they run vertically, that is, toward 
the centre of the tree. It is supposed that air obtains 
access to the body of the plant through these tubes. 

Leaves are usually considered an extension of the 
bark. They have a net work of veins running through 
them in every direction, conveying fluids to all parts; 
and also have on their outer surfaces, innumerable 
little pores or mouths, through some of which they 
breathe out, and through others draw in, water and 
various gases. These functions of the leaf will be 
noticed again in a subsequent chapter. 

SECTION II. THE GREAT NUMBER AND DIVERSITY OF ORGANIC 
BODIES IN PLANTS. 

The organic portion in these several parts of the 
plant, consist of a great variety of substances, with 
the more common of which at least, the farmer ought 
to be acquainted. 

The organic bodies of plants are exceedingly 
numerous. Almost every plant has some one or more 
peculiar to itself. Thus we see Indian rubber the 
product of one tree, gutta percha of another, sago of 
another; various perfumes from one plant, and dis- 
agreeable odors from another, as in the rose or the 
mignionette of one class, the skunk cabbage or the 
tomato of the other; some also have a pungent or 
aromatic taste, such as the sassafras and the birch. 
In short the variety of bodies that thus communicate 
different qualities to plants, or often to the different 
parts of the same plant, are more numerous than 
would be believed by one who had not attended some- 
what to the subject. 

The different oils and sugars, for instance, which 
exist in vegetables, may be counted by tens and twen- 
ties already, while new kinds are constantly being 
discovered; so with the various extracts which can be 

4* 



42 WATER. 

obtained from the flowers or bark. There are few 
plants in which a careful examination of theii- \ ai iuus 
parts will not discover from fifteen to twenty different 
organic substances, and in some twice that numbei 
may be distinguished. The perfect separation and 
determination of such bodies, is among the most diffi- 
cult of problems of modern chemistry. But after all, the 
substances which make up the great bulk of plants 
are few in number. Those which give the color, 
taste, smell, or peculiar properties of that kind, to 
particular plants, generally form but a small part of 
their whole mass, and have but little influence on 
their practical value. 

SECTION III. OF WATER. 

In order to explain some remarkable properties in 
the substances to which attention will soon be called, it 
is necessary here to mention the composition of water. 

This liquid, so universally diffused and of such in- 
estimable value, is composed of but two gases, oxygen 
and hydrogen. In nine pounds of water, are about 
one of hydrogen and eight of oxygen. Although the 
weight of oxygen is thus greatest, hydrogen is so 
light that it constitutes the greatest bulk, so that by 
measure there is only one gallon of oxygen to two of 
hydrogen. 

a. That water does consist of these two gases alone, 
may be shown by burning hydrogen in an atmosphere 
of oxygen. Water will immediately begin to con- 
dense on the sides of the vessel used by the experi- 
menter, and will soon accumulate so as to run down 
in drops. Some of the French chemists once tried 
this experiment on a large scale, continuing it for a 
number of days, and obtained several pints of water. 
On burning a jet of hydrogen in common air, under 
a large glass vessel open at bottom, water will imme- 



WOODY FIBRE. 43 

(liately be formed by an union with the oxygen of the 
air, and will condense on the cool surface of the glass. 

b. Water exists in several states: 1. As the simple 
liquid; 2. As steam or vapor; 3. As ice or snow. 
Each of these forms have their peculiar properties 
and benefits. As a fluid, it renders the bodies of all 
animals plump, moist, and elastic, while it also gives 
life to all plants and vegetables, forming their circu- 
lating fluids. 

As a vapor, it prevents the outer surfaces of plants 
and animals from drying away too much, intercepts 
the rays of the sun which would otherwise scorch and 
burn us, and performs many other important offices, of 
which there is not space to speak here. As ice, its 
action in alternate freezing and thawing, thus ex- 
panding and contracting, is to loosen and mellow the 
soil. This is the effect produced by ridging stiff clays 
in autumn, that the frost may have free access. 

SECTION rV. OF ORGANIC BODIES CONTAINING CARBON, 
HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN. 

By far the most abundant body in the organic part 
of all or nearly all plants, is called woody Jibre, some- 
times cellular fibre. This is the stringy, woody part 
of straw, flax, hemp, wood, &c. If any of them are 
bruised and soaked until every thing that can be 
washed away is gone, a mass of white fibres remains, 
which is tolerably pure woody fibre. Cotton or pith 
are the purest natural forms of this substance, a. It 
is white, tasteless, insoluble in water, and will not in 
its natural condition support life. b. It constitutes 
the largest portion of nearly all plants, that is in their 
dry state; this distinction is necessary, because many 
plants lose more than half of their weight of w^ater by 
drying, this may be seen in most of the common grasses. 

Woody fibre is rmposed of carbon, hydrogen and 



44 STARCH. 

oxygen. Now it is a curious point, that in this 
woody fibre, hydrogen and oxygen are present in just 
the proportions to form water. To this important 
fact we shall refer again. 

In the stems, leaves, husks, bark, and in most cases 
the roots, woody fibre is by far the largest constituent; 
but in the seeds and fruits, it is usually much smaller 
in quantity. 

In a great number of seeds, starch is the leading 
ingredient; so also in many roots that are used for 
food. a. Starch is in its usual appearance well known, 
as a white, tasteless, or nearly tasteless substance. It 
does not dissolve even in warm water, but forms a 
species of jelly with it. One peculiar property is that 
of turning blue when iodine comes in contact with it. 
The common tincture of iodine will answer for this 
experiment : the smallest possible quantity will produce 
an immediate effect. 

h. Starch may be easily obtained by making some 
wheaten flour into dough, and then washing on a very 
fine sieve or linen cloth placed above a convenient 
vessel. As the dough is kneaded under successive 
portions of water, the water becomes milky, and the 
mass of dough constantly diminishes in bulk until at 
last nothing but a sticky substance called gluten re- 
mains ; to this w^e shall refer again. If the milky 
liquid which has run through the cloth be allowed to 
stand quiet for some hours, a deposit of fine white 
grains will be formed on the bottom of the containing 
vessel : this is the starch. 

c. It may also be easily extracted from the potato, 
by grating fine and washing. The starch will settle 
next the bottom; the skin, woody fibre, etc. will float 
above, so that they ma^ be poured off. In this way 
potato starch is made. 

The composition of starch is carbon, hydrogen anrl 
oxygen; the same, it will be remembered, as that of 



SUGAR. 46 

woody fibre. These substances exist in the same 
proportion as in woody fibre. 

Another important organic substance is sugar. Its 
properties of easy solubility and sweetness need scarce- 
ly be mentioned here, neither w^ill they require illus- 
tration by the teacher. 

There are several kinds of sugar present in plants, 
but the kind called ca?ie sugar is most abundant and 
important. It is that which exists in the stalk of the 
sugar cane, the root of the sugar beet,- the trunk of the 
sugar maple, etc. etc. Sugar blackens and becomes 
a species of charcoal when burned : it consists of 
carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. These same three 
substances also form the gums, resins, and oily matters 
which exist so abundantly in certain trees, as the 
pines, and in certain seeds, as linseed. 

Thus by far the larger portion of plants is made up 
of substances containing only these three gases. We 
now come to a singular fact, hinted at with relation 
to one of the substances in the early part of this sec- 
tion : the hydrogen and oxygen in woody fibre, starch, 
sugar and many gums, are in the proper proportions 
to form water. The plant then can make these bo- 
dies without difficulty, for we have seen that it absorbs 
both carbonic acid and water through its leaves : if 
now the oxygen of the carbonic acid be given off 
through the leaves during the day, as we have already 
mentioned that it is, there remains only carbon and 
water, or carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, just the sub- 
stances to form those bodies which we have named 
above. 

In the case of woody fibre, sugar, starch and gum, 
the quantity of carbon and of the elements of water is 
the same, so that they are in fact identical in com- 
position. How strange that they should be so different 
in properties ! We can not explain why this is; but 
yet the chemist is able to make sugar from either 



46 CHEMICAL CHANGES. 

woody fibre, gum or starch. It is not more strange 
than a thousand other things in nature. We have 
seen, for instance, that carbonic acid puts out all fire 
and destroys life; yet carbon, one of the substances of 
which it is composed, burns most violently in oxygen, 
the other; and this other body, oxygen, is, when alone, 
the great supporter of vitality : mingled in the air, it 
is what sustains all animal and vegetable life, and all 
combustion also. 

It has been incidentally noticed, that certain of the 
bodies above named may be changed by chemical 
means. Some of these changes are important, and de- 
serve a rather more extended notice, a. Woody fibre, 
if ground fine and subjected to a certain degree of heat 
for a long time, becomes hard and yellow in color, and 
finally can be ground like flour. In this state it is 
partly soluble, and can with yeast be made into a light 
wholesome bread : it has also been partially changed 
into a substance resembling starch or gum. h. Starch, 
if heated at a temperature just below scorching for a 
day or two, gradually becomes yellow and finally quite 
soluble, w^ith a sweetish taste. It has become dextrine^ 
or what is called by calico printers British gum. This 
change takes place to a considerable extent in the 
ordinary baking of bread, c. By the action of dilute 
sulphuric acid in certain proportions and at certain 
temperatures, starch may be changed first into gum, 
and then into sugar. 

We thus see that this class of bodies are not only 
similar in composition, but that a change from one to 
the other may be effected with much ease. If we can 
do this, how much the more readily can it be eflfected 
in the interior of the plant ! That such changes do 
take place there, and that they are of much practical 
importance, we shall have occasion to point out in 
subsequent chapters. 



NITROGENOUS BODIES, GLUTEN, ETC. 47 



SECTION V. OF ORGANIC BODIES CONTAINING CARBON, 
HYDROGEN, OXYGEN AND NITROGEN. 

Although the substances containing the three first 
named gases only, make up more than nine-tenths of 
most plants, yet there is a class which in addition to 
them contains nitrogen. This class, though so small 
in proportion, is, as will be seen ultimately, one of 
remarkable importance. 

The most easily obtained of these nitrogenous bo- 
dies, is the one already mentioned as left behind when 
the dough of wheaten flour is washed upon a cloth, to 
obtain the starch. a. It is sticky, tenacious, and 
somewhat like glue in its character : . its name gluten 
has reference to these properties, h. When heated, it 
swells up to a great bulk, becoming quite full of holes. 
For this reason flour which has much gluten in it is 
called by the bakers strong, because light porous bread 
can be easily made from it, and because it absorbs and 
retains much water, c. The proportion of gluten in 
wheat is from ten to twenty per cent. The wheat of 
warm countries is said to contain more than that grown 
in temperate latitudes. 

Several other grains contain gluten, but none so 
much as wheat; they all, how'ever, have bodies of the 
same class, not generally resembling gluten in ap- 
pearance and properties, but all containing nitrogen. 
To these different names have been given : the nitro- 
genous substance in peas and beans is called legunmi; 
that in indian corn, zein. In some other plants there 
are substances of the same kind, called vegetable albu- 
men, casein, etc. These are all somewhat similar in 
their properties and composition. There is a little 
sulphur and phosphorus in gluten, and in these nitro- 
genous bodies generally, beside the four gases already 
mentioned. 



4S SUPPLIES OF ORGANIC FOOD. 

It will now be seen what an important part these 
four elements act, in the economy of nature. From 
them all the forms of vegetable life are built up; they 
are constantly passing from one state of combination 
into another, and yet always come out at last them- 
selves unchanged. This is for the reason that they 
are truly, and not in the common sense, elementary 
bodies. If w-e take a piece of wood for examination, 
we can divide it by various means into oxygen, carbon 
and hydrogen; but w^efail in any attempt to subdivide 
again either of these three bodies. Those bodies then 
are elementary, chemically speaking, which we can 
not by any means decompose or separate, which w^e 
can not show to be compound. There are in all be- 
tw^een fifty and sixty of these elements known, and 
among them are the four gases the functions of which 
w^e have been considering. Sulphur and phosphorus 
are also elements. 

SECTION VI. OF THE SUPPLIES OF ORGANIC FOOD TO 

PLANTS. 

The sources from whence plants derive their various 
kinds of organic food, are different in different locali- 
ties. 

Carbon is mostly draw^n in from the air in the form 
of carbonic acid : some also comes from the soil, but 
by far the greater part from the air. The quantity 
required for the support of all the vegetation upon the 
earth's surface must be immense, especially when we 
know the fact that carbon in general constitutes fully 
half, and sometimes much more than half of its weight. 
When w^e remember that the proportion of carbonic 
acid in the air is but about 55^0*^ of all, there may 
seem to be some danger of its exhaustion. 

It has been said that the weight of this gas in the 
air over every acre of the earth's surface, is about 
seven tons. This quantity, if the land were all under 



CONSUMPTION AND RESTORATION OF CARBONIC ACID. 49 

cultivation, wouJd be exhausted in from seven to ten 
years. There would thus be some cause for apprehen- 
sion on this point, could we not indicate several sources 
which constantly tend to keep up the necessary supply, 

1. One of the most important of these is the 
breathing of animals: the pure air that is drawn into 
the lungs at each breath, returns charged with carbonic 
acid. It is for this reason that the air in a close room 
where there are many people becomes so unwholesome, 
and after a time intolerable. The carbonic acid 
breathed out into the air, has rendered it deleterious 
to animal life. A direct proof of the quantity of car- 
bonic acid breathed in this way from the lungs, may 
be given by blowing through a tube into lime water, 
made by pouring water upon common quicklime and 
allowing it to settle and become clear. The carbonic 
acid unites with the lime, and the clear lime water 
becomes in a few moments quite milky, owing to the 
formation of carbonate of lime. 

2. Another source from whence carbonic acid is 
derived in immense quantities, is ordinary combustion. 
All combustible bodies used for fires, produce this gas 
while burning. Carbon, in one form or another, is 
the leading combustible substance in all kinds of fuel, 
in wood, coal, charcoal, oil, resin, pitch, turpentine, 
etc. While burning, the carbon unites with oxygen, 
and becomes carbonic acid. Whenever then combus- 
tion is going on, this gas is largely produced, a. An 
instance is to be seen in the practice of suicide by 
means of burning charcoal. In France, particularly, 
the misguided and wicked persons who thus rashly 
desire to take away their own lives, light a pan of 
charcoal and shut themselves up with it in a close 
room. The carbonic acid produced soon fills the room, 
and in a short time destroys life. b. It is easy to see 
that combustion must annually send vast quantities of 
this gas into the atmosphere. Particularly is this 



50 SOURCE OF HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN. 

true in cold climates, where during winter fires are so 
numerous and constant. 

3. In some districts large quantities of carbonic acid 
pass off into the air from fissures in the earth's surface : 
this is no doubt produced by volcanic action at a great 
depth. 

4. Another source is natural decay and decomposi- 
tion. It is a curious fact, that if you leave a piece of 
wood to decay, the ultimate results will be the same 
as if it had been burned in the commencement. The 
action is slower, requiring often years to complete it; 
but the products are the same, that is, carbonic acid 
and water. Decay has, for this reason, been called a 
iilow combustion. 

We see therefore that the constant tendency in every 
species of destruction, decomposition, or decay in 
animal and vegetable bodies, is to the production and 
liberation of carbonic acid. The sources already 
indicated are quite sufficient to supply the quantities 
annually withdrawn from the atmosphere by vegeta- 
tion. 

The hydrogen required by plants is readily obtained. 
Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen : in the form 
of a liquid, it is drawn up by the roots; as a vapor, it 
is absorbed by the leaves from the atmosphere. This 
may be seen in the great effect of a trifling shower 
during dry weather. Even if there is only enough 
rain to barely moisten the surface of the parched earth, 
the leaves before drooping are revived, and the whole 
plant assumes a flourishing appearance : no water has 
reached its roots, but it has absorbed a portion of the 
shower through its leaves. This one source of supply 
affords ample store of hydrogen. 

Oxygen is also to be obtained by the plant from 
water. Carbonic acid too, it will be remembered, is 
partly composed of this gas. There can thus be no 
difficulty as to the plants obtaining oxygen, and no 
fear of exhausting it from tlie alinosphere. 



SOURCES OF THE NITROGEN OF PLANTS. 51 

The source of the nitrogen in plants is not so clear. 
We know that four-fifths of the air surrounding all 
plants is nitrogen, and yet it is proved that but little 
if any of this nitrogen is absorbed through their leaves; 
neither can it be shown to enter in any quantity 
through their roots. We find, however, that the soil 
is the place from which it comes, but that it is always 
in some form chemically united with other bodies. 
The two substances, ammonia and nitric acid, described 
under a previous chapter as containing nitrogen, are 
the chief sources of supply to plants : this fact partly 
explains their great efficacy as manures. They are 
both present in fertile soils, sometimes the one and 
sometimes the other in largest quantity. Both are 
soluble in water, and therefore can without difficulty 
enter the roots. 

It will now be easily perceived that these organic 
bodies to which attention has been so frequently called, 
are indeed of very great importance. They constitute 
the great bulk of vegetable life in all of its forms. 
In the air and the soil, they are indispensable to life. 
We cannot see them, yet depend on them for existence 
itself. If half of the o 5^0 o^^ of carbonic acid present 
in the atmosphere were withdrawn, nearly all valuable 
plants would cease to flourish, and as a consequence 
animal life too would gradually become extinct. 



52 



CHAPTER V 

THE SOIL. 

Composition of the soil: divided into an organic and an inorganic 
part. Quantity, origin, necessity and constitution of organic 
matter : how to increase it in the soil. Formation of mineral 
part of soils; chiefly from limestones, sandstones and clays. 
Classification of soils. Other substances present beside three 
above named-, their number and names. Cause of difference 
between fertile and barren soils. 

SECTION I. THE PROPORTION AND ORIGIN OF THE ORGANIC 
MATTER IN THE SOIL. 

Havins: now become familiar with the substances 
which are found in both the organic and the inorganic 
parts of plants, we must next inquire what is the 
connection between the plant and the soil. We fmd 
that one soil produces better crops than another; that 
plants will grow in some places, that will not flourish 
at all in others; that manure is not needed on some 
soils, while it is quite indispensable on others. The 
reasons for these and many other differences that might 
be mentioned, are only to be discovered by chemical 
analyses of the soil itself. 

The first point which we are able to establish, is the 
fact that here as in the plant, are to be found the two 
great classes of organic and inorganic substances. If 
a portion of soil is heated on a knife-blade or a thin 
iron or tin plate, it will smoke and blacken; if the 
heat be continued, the smoke will after a time cease, 
the blackness disappear, and the remaining earth will 
be usually of a whitish or reddish color. It is like tlie 



ORGANIC MATTER IN SOILS. 53 

ash left behind on burning wood or straw, excepting 
that there is far more of it. 

The ash from plants, it will be remembered, is but 
a small proportion of their weight, from one to four- 
teen lbs. in a hundred: in soils the incombustible part 
is usually more than ninety lbs. in a hundred, frequent- 
ly ninety-five. In some peaty or rich forest lands, 
indeed, the organic part is largest; but, as all know, 
these constitute but a small proportion of our ordinary 
soils. This organic matter was not originally present 
in the soil: it has all accumulated there by the death 
and decay of plants and animals. The first soil, 
formed by the crumbling and decomposition of the 
bare rock, must have been entirely destitute of this 
part. Some species of living things, however, existed 
even there, some forms of vegetation and of animal 
life ; as these died, they mingled with the broken down 
rocks, and became food for new plants of higher or- 
ders; thus their remains gradually gathered, until the 
result was our present surface soils. 

Fertile soils always contain a considerable propor- 
tion of this organic matter. There is no rule as to 
the quantity that should be present: we find them very 
fertile, containing all the way from two to fifty per 
cent, and even upward; though it may be said that 
permanently rich strong soils seldom contain less than 
from five to ten per cent. 

When there is more than fifty per cent, and the soil 
is moist, an injurious effect is produced, the soil be- 
coming what is called sour : nothing but poor wiry 
grass will grow. The reasons of and the remedy for 
this result, will be considered in a subsequent chapter*. 

* I have said that there is no rule as to the precise quantity of 
organic matter that ought to be present, that is within 5 to 40 or 
50 per cent. Other things being equal, the soil with 30 or 40 
per cent seems to be in no way superior to that which only has 
4 to 5 per cent. Thus we can not speak definitely as to any 
necessary proportion. 

.5* 



b'i NECESSITY FOR ORGANIC MATTER. 

Having explained the origin of this organic matter, 
it is only necessary to mention briefly, that it is com- 
posed of the same fom' organic substances previously 
named. Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen. 



SECTION II. NECESSITY FOR ORGANIC MATTER IN THE SOIL, 
AND ITS LIABILITY TO EXHAUSTION. 

This part is necessary in the soil for several reasons. 

1. It enables the land, if light and sandy, to retain 
moisture, and also to retain manures much longer than 
it otherwise would; to stiff and clayey soils it gives 
mellowness and lightness. 

2. Another important effect in cold climates, is the 
darker color which it imparts to the surface. A dark 
colored soil absorbs more heat than a light one, being 
consequently warmer and earlier. This is seen in the 
fact that snow melts sooner from the ploughed field 
than from the meadow in similar situations; from the 
dark garden bed, than from the gravelled w*alk. 

3. Beside these useful purposes, there is no doubt 
that the organic part of the soil, in a greater or less 
degree, ministers food directly to the plant through its 
roots. The supply obtained in this way varies with 
the situation, but is of much importance to plants, as 
shown by their increased luxuriance when it is fur- 
nished them in a soil previously deficient. 

This consumption of organic matter by plants to 
form their own bulk, shows how it is that land long 
cultivated and scantily manured, at last becomes very 
poor in this part. Each crop has carried away a 
portion of it, more than has been returned in the small 
quantity of manure applied. Another way in which 
it is exhausted, is by frequent ploughing and stirring, 
whereby it is exposed to the air, and consequently 
decomposes rapidly. If you bury straw or other or- 
ganic matter deep under the surface, so as to be ex- 



METHODS OF SUPPLYING ORGANIC MATTER. 55 



eluded from the air, it will remain almost unchanged 
for years; but as soon as you bring it toward the 
surface where the air can obtain access, decay com- 
mences. 

There are then two ways in which this disappear- 
ance of organic substances goes on in the soil: first, 
as it is used for the food of plants; second, as it is 
decomposed by being brought in contact with air. 

From what has now been stated, it is obviously for 
the interest of the farmer to keep up the supply of 
organic matter in his soil : an equivalent at least for 
every thing taken off should, as far as possible, be 
returned in the shape of manure; peat and composts 
are good forms of adding large quantities. 

But the best way of all when the land is run down, 
is to cultivate green crops for ploughing under; such 
as clover, buckwheat, vetches, etc. etc. a. Though 
plants draw much of their organic part from the soil, 
yet the greater proportion comes from the air through 
the leaves ; consequently when a crop of clover is 
ploughed in, there is, in addition to what it has taken 
from the soil, much more than half its weight which 
came from the air, ard is therefore a clear gain to the 
soil. In this way the organic matter may be increased, 
and even the poorest land be gradually brought up to 
a state of fertility, b. Every good farmer should 
watch his fields carefully, and see that they do not 
become deficient in this very important- part. When- 
ever or wherever we see land losing it from year to 
year, it is certain that there is bad management some- 
where. 

The farmer must not suppose that by this or any 
other system he can bring up his worn out land in one 
or two years : the progress of improvement will be 
gradual. He must persevere in the use of green crops, 
bringing them in frequently, and returning at the same 
time in the shape of manure as much as may be of the 



56 DERIVATION OF SOILS. 

other crops taken off. Above all he must not, as soon 
as his land is so far recovered that his clover or other 
green crop begins to be heavy, yield to any temptation 
to cut it off; for this is returning to the old system of 
exhaustion. The object should be to keep the land 
steadily improving; and to that, for the few first years, 
all other considerations should give way. When it 
is fully established as a fertile and well stocked soil, 
constant watchfulness will keep it in that condition 
without much expense; and the farmer will soon find 
that it is far cheaper to cultivate good land and keep 
it good, than to live on a farm where every thing is 
taken out and nothing put in. 

SECTION III. OF THE DERIVATION OF SOILS, AND THEIR 
CLASSIFICATION. 

I have already said that the mineral part of soils is 
derived from the decomposition or crumbling down of 
the solid rocks. In every neighborhood may be seen 
instances of this crumbling down : with some rocks, 
as granite, it is very slow, scarcely perceptible from 
one year to another; with others it is more rapid, as 
some sandstones and limestones; with others still al- 
most immediate, as some slates which fall to pieces 
whenever they are brought to the surface. However 
quickly or slowly this crumbling takes place, a soil is 
at last made, and of course resembles in its composition 
that of the rock from which it was formed. 

The greater part of the rocks which appear on the 
surface of our earth, are varieties of sandstones, lime- 
stones or clays, or mixtures of the three*. 

1. Sandstone is often known as freestone, and is 
common in many parts of this country, being a va- 
luable building material. Our light sandy soils were 

* This is a popular and not strictly scientific classification, and 
is to be considered only as a general description. 



CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS. 57 

nearly all originally formed from this rock. Many of 
these are very poor; but there are some sandstones 
which make most excellent soils, as rich as any that 
are cultivated. In particular cases they contain so 
much lime as to be nearly marls, and then form very 
fertile soils. Very many sandstones crumble away 
quite readily, some show^ing the action of the atmo- 
sphere almost immediately upon exposure. For this 
reason the soils are ordinarily of good depth. 

2. Limestone is also common, and there are few 
places where a teacher can not find some to exhibit to 
his scholars. It is found of all colors from white to 
black, and makes a great variety of soils. As a ge- 
neral rule these soils are good, and capable of bearing 
very excellent crops. There is much variation among 
the limestones as to ease of decomposition. Many of 
them form a deep soil very soon, but there are some of 
the blue mountain limestones which decompose w^ith 
exceeding slowness. On these the soil is thin, but 
usually of rather good quality, especially for pastures. 

3. Clay is the principal ingredient in roofing slate, j^ 
in school slates, and in what are called shales. Be- 
side this, as is well known, it exists in large beds, 
from w^hich are made pipes, bricks, tiles, etc. etc. 
Whenever it occurs largely in soils, they are stiff, 
tenacious, and nearly impervious to moisture. In 
consequence water remains on the surface, and makes 
them wet, difficult to plough, and hard to cultivate in 
any way. They are, however, usually of good quality, 
and by proper skill may be made most valuable. 

Some writers have classified soils, according as they 
contained more or less of one of these. First would 
be a sand, then a sandy loam, then a clay loam, a stiff 
clay, and finally a brick or pipe clay, the last being 
too stiff for cultivation. Soils in which lime existed 
largely, would be called calcareous. Where there 
was more than 20 to 25 per cent, it would be a marl. 



58 CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS. 

Some definite rules of this kind might prove quite 
useful to farmers in describing soils. 

Prof. Johnston has proposed the following : 

1. Pure clay, such as pipe clay or porcelain clay; from 

this no sand can be removed by washing. 

2. Strong clay, brick clay, contains from 5 to 20 per 

cent of siliceous sand. 

3. Clay loam has from 20 to 40 per cent of fine sand. 

4. A loam, has from 40 to 70 per cent of sand. 

5. A sandy loam, has from 70 to 90 per cent. 

6. A light sand has less than 10 per cent of clay. 

This classification may easily be made by means of 
simple washing. The soil should first be dried, and 
then after boiling in water should be thoroughly stirred 
in some convenient vessel. The sand will settle first, 
and when it is at the bottom, the liquid above, hold- 
ing the fine clay, etc. in suspension, may be poured 
off; when this has been done a few times, nothing 
will remain at the bottom of the vessel, beside nearly 
pure sand; this may be dried and weighed, and the 
quantity will indicate to which class of the above the 
soil belongs. 

It is always possible to ascertain if there be much 
lime in a soil, by adding a little muriatic acid, such 
as may be obtained at any apothecaries. This acid, as 
soon as it comes incontact with the lime, if there be any, 
causes a brisk effervescence, owing to the bubblings up 
and escape of carbonic acid gas, which is expelled 
from its combination w^ith lime by a stronger acid. It 
is easy in this way to ascertain if any specimen of earth 
is a marl or not. Such a simple test would often save 
the farmer much trouble and expense, by preventing 
him from applying useless material to his soil for the 
purpose of fertilizing it. The distinctions between 
light and heavy soils, so common among farmers, all 



INORGANIC SUBSTANCES IN SOILS. 59 

arise from the different proportions of sand and clay 
which the various soils contain. 

The light soils are most easily and cheaply culti- 
vated, and are found to be particularly well adapted 
to the growing of some crops, such as barley, rye, 
buckwheat, etc. They are porous, and for that reason 
generally dry. 

The heavier soils require more skill and caution in 
their cultivation, but are not so easily exhausted as 
the others; they are particularly adapted to growing 
wheat, oats, indian corn, etc. Very heavy soils are 
exceedingly liable to wetness, and can only be made 
dry by draining. 

SECTION IV. NUIMBER OF INORGANIC SUBSTANCES IN SOIL. 
REASONS FOR FERTILITY OR BARRENNESS. 

It has been said that soils are chiefly made up of 
three substances, lime, sand (silica), and clay (alu- 
mina). But besides these, chemical analysis finds 
smaller quantities of some seven or eight other bodies. 
In the first column of the following table, representing 
the composition of three different soils, is to be seen 
the names of these. 



60 



INORGANIC SUBSTANCES IN SOILS. 



TABLE FIRST. 



In one hundred pounds. 



Organic matter, 

Silica, 

Alumina, 

Lime, 

Magnesia, 

Oxide of Iron, 

Oxide of Manganese, . . 

Potash, 

Soda, 

Chlorine, 

Sulphuric acid, 

Phosphoric acid, 

Carbonic acid, 

Loss during the analysis, 



Soil fertile 
■without 
manure. 



9-7 

64-8 

5-7 

5-9 

•9 

6-1 

•1 

•2 

•4 

•2 

•2 

•4 

4-0 

1.4 



100-0 100-0 



Fertile 

with 

manure. 



5' 

83- 

5- 

1' 



Very 
barren. 



4-0 
77-8 

9-1 
•4 
•1 

8-1 
•1 



100-0 



It will at once be noticed, that these are the very 
substances which were named and described when we 
were upon the inorganic part, or ash, of plants. To 
this coincidence I shall return in the next chapter. 

At the head of the first column is named organic 
matter; this has already been disposed of. The other 
substances making up the inorganic part, follow in 
different proportions, the silica being largest. It will 
be seen that these three soils are different in their 
qualities, one being fertile without manure, another 
fertile with the addition of manure, and last quite 
barren. Every one at all conversant with agriculture, 
knows that these differences in soils actually exist. 
We find occasionally, though not often, tracts of large 
extent, where the most exhausting crops may be 
grown for many years in succession without the aid 
of manure, their power of production not seeming to 
decrease even under such severe cultivation. Now 



REASONS OF FERTILITY. 61 

wherever we discover such soils, whether in our own 
western states, whether on the banks of the Nile or 
Ganges, in whatever part of the world they may be 
located, a chemical examination will invariably show 
the presence of all the substances above named. It 
is not necessary that they should be in precisely the 
quantities named here, but they must all be present. 
The proportions of some of these may seem so small 
as to be unimportant; that they are not, will ap- 
pear when w^e consider how many hundred pounds I 
there are in an acre of soil twelve inches deep. The I 
smallest of the above proportions would, for an acre, ' 
amount to several tons. It would require an im- 
mensely heavy manuring to add one half of a per 
cent of any particular ingredient to the soil. 

Unfortunately soils of the first class are not so 
plenty as those of the second, which bear good crops 
if an abundance of manure is added. Such are our 
ordinary soils in all parts of the country. It will be 
seen that in the column representing the composition 
of this soil, there are blanks opposite to the potash, 
soda, and chlorine, denoting that these are absent. 
Several others, sulphuric and phosphoric acids, and 
lime, are in much smaller quantities than in the first 
column. 

In the third column, we find just half of the inor- 
ganic bodies present in the first entirely wanting, and 
two others, lime and magnesia, greatly reduced in 
their proportion. Any ordinary application of manure 
would not supply enough to make up all of these 
deficiencies; and except in places where produce was 
high and manures cheap, as in the neighborhood of 
large cities, such land could scarcely be cultivated 
with profit. We can tell just what is w^anting by 
inspection of the above table; but few farmers could 
afford to do everything required for the improvement 
of such a soil at once. The best w^ay would be to 

6 



62 REASONS OF BARRENNESS. 

bring it up by ploughing in green crops, and thus 
gradually with a moderate use of manure in addition, 
form a surface soil. This would, however, be a work 
calling for the exercise of much patience, perseverance, 
and good judgment. 

The foregoing table shows clearly enough, the 
differences in soils which cause what we call fertility 
or barrenness. The explanation is perfectly simple, 
and perfectly satisfactory, showing as it does that all 
depends upon the presence or absence of certain sub- 
stances. This is the general solution, but there are 
occasionally cases which form exceptions. There are 
soils which remain barren, even although they contain 
all of the substances named above, and though much 
manure is added. This is because their physical 
structure and condition is wrong, or because some 
substances are present in hurtful excess, a. If the 
quantities of magnesia, iron, or manganese, be very 
great, the soil containing them is f6und to be un- 
propitious to vegetation, often positively injurious. 
b. There are two oxides of iron occasionally found 
in the earth. One is the peroxide, or common iron 
rust; this does not seem to be hurtful, but always 
beneficial to vegetation. The other is called the 
protoxide of iron; it contains less oxygen than the 
peroxide, it is also more soluble, and is where it 
exists in considerable quantity, fatal to most plants 
and trees. 

A barren soil, then, is barren because some sub- 
stances are too largely present, or because certain sub- 
stances are wanting. Chemistry is quite competent 
to point out the difficulty in either case, and also to 
say what would be the remedy. We can tell what is 
necessary to fertilize the most hopeless desert, but at 
the same time may not be able to conduct the opera- 
tion so as to make it profitable. It becomes no longer 
a question of knowledge, it is one of expense. We 



UEASONS OF BARRENNESS. 63 

know what to do, but may not in all cases be able to 
do it with a profit, and this with a practical man is 
always an important distinction. 

It will be noticed in table first, that alumina, a 
substance rarely, if ever, present in the ash of plants, 
is quite an abundant constituent of soils. This is one 
distinction between the inorganic part of plants and 
that of the soil, alumina being a characteristic of the 
one and absent from the other. In nearly all soils, silica 
is the leading substance, usually constituting fully 
two-thirds of their whole weight, and often eighty or 
ninety pounds in every hundred. The only cases in 
which it is not largely present are those of the peat 
bogs, made up almost entirely of vegetable matter. 
Silica forms compounds with certain of the other 
bodies in the soil, making what are called soluble 
silicates. The gradual formation of these compounds 
affords a supply for the plant. 

We have now mentioned the substances which are 
present in the soil, and have in a previous chapter 
dwelt upon those which constitute the plant. Sundry 
points of connection between the two, will already 
have suggested themselves to the reader or student. 
To these we must next turn our attention, in treating 
of the various methods proper to be employed in 
bringing soils to a state of fertility, and to a condition 
the most easy and profitable for cultivation. 

From examining table first, and from the explana- 
tions already given, it will be perceived that there 
are various points to be considered in attempting the 
improvement of a soil. a. If there be a chemical 
deficiency, that is an absence of certain constituents 
necessary to fertility, as mentioned above, then but 
one course can be adopted with any hope of success: 
this course is obviously to supply what is wanting. 
The ways of doing this in the most advantageous and 
economical manner, will be considered under what 



64 IMPROVEMENT OF SOILS. 

may be called chemical improvements, or the use of 
manures, b. If there be a physical defect, if the 
land is too wet, too light, too stiff, or if from either 
of these causes it abounds iu noxious compounds, the 
remedies come more properly under what may be 
called mechanical improvements. This branch of the 
subject will first attract our attention, and will be 
considered in the following chapter. 



65 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE SOIL (CONTINUED), AND SOME OF ITS CON- 
NECTIONS WITH THE PLANT. 

Nature of mechanical improvement : mixing of sands and clays. 
Evils of wetness in the soil. Beneficial effects of drains ; what 
kind of drains best; proper depth; materials of which they 
should be made ; the different varieties of tiles ; subsoil plough- 
ing; trench ploughing. Connection between inorganic part of 
the soil and of the plant illustrated. Plants seem to require 
all of the inorganic substances in the soil, but not in the same 
proportions. 

SECTION I. WHAT THE CONDITION OF THE SOIL SHOULD BE, 
AND THE NATURE OF MECHANICAL IMPROVEMENT. 

We are now able to say that a fertile soil should 
have all of the substances which w'ere mentioned in 
Table I., and were- also named when giving the com- 
position of the plant. These substances should be pre- 
sent in abundance, and yet none of them in too large 
quantity; they should be in forms best adapted to the 
nourishment of plants, and the physical character of the 
soil should be such that the plants could easily penetrate 
in every direction with their roots to obtain them. Air 
and warmth should also pervade every part, because 
under their influence the plant flourishes better, and 
the necessary changes in the composition of the soil 
take place more readily. To bring about these con- 
ditions is a study for the farmer, and the latter of them 
come appropriately under our present head. 

By mechanical improvement of the soil, I mean the 
improvement of its texture, and of its other qualities, 

6* 



66 MECHANICAL IMPROVEMEMENT OF THE SOIL. 

]jy means not connected immediately with alteration 
of its chemical composition. They bring on chemical 
changes, it is true, but still the operations themselves 
are purely mechanical. Some soils, for instance, are 
too light, and others too stiff and heavy. There are 
various ways of removing these defects. 

a. In situations where clay can be obtained, it is 
found to be the most valuable possible application for 
light soils; it consolidates them, causes them to retain 
water and manure, and for the objects of permanent 
improvement is worth more, load for load, than manure. 

h. Upon very heavy clay lands, on the contrary, 
sand is laid in large quantities with equal success. 
Here the effect is the reverse of that desired on light 
sands. The clay is mellowed, made less retentive, 
dries sooner in spring, and does not bake so hard in 
summer. Such operations as these, in favorable si- 
tuations, are very profitable; and although expensive 
at first, are in the end far cheaper than manuring in 
the ordinary way. 

SECTION II. THE EFFECTS OF TOO MUCH MOISTURE IN THE 

SOIL. 

I come now to mention a defect in soils which is of 
very great importance, and which has not as yet been 
fully appreciated in this country. This is the presence 
of tQo much moisture. Wherever water is so abun- 
dant in the soil as to completely saturate it, various 
evil effects take place. 

a. The necessary decomposition of organic sub- 
stances is arrested, and certain vegetable acids are 
formed, called by chemists humic, ulmic, geic acids, 
etc. In swamps and low grounds generally, these 
accumulate to a large extent, and form the deep black 
soil or muck of such situations. 

b. So long as these acids are present in such ex- 
ce5'«ive quantity, valuable plants refuse to grow^; but, 



COLD AND SOUR SOILS. 67 

as is well known, when the muck is taken out and 
dried, it becomes a valuable manure : this is because 
air and warmth obtain access, and the process of 
decomposition goes on again. In order to avoid mis- 
apprehension, it ought here to be mentioned that these 
acids in small proportions are really useful in the soil, 
as furnishing a portion of their food to plants. It is 
the excess of them that does so much injury. 

It is not only in swamps that this injurious formation 
occurs : there is much land which is too wet in the 
early part of the season, or in which are springs that 
saturate the surface; this land may be hard, and may 
even bear ploughing, yet still it is what farmers call 
cold and sour. These are exactly the proper words, 
for they truly express its qualities. Considerable and 
injurious quantities of these vegetable acids are 
formed; and the water, by constant evaporation from 
the surface, produces cold; the grass is scanty and 
poor, while rushes show themselves in the wettest 
spots. There are large tracts of such land as this in 
almost every part of the country. Farmers think such 
land too dry for draining, and yet that is the only way 
to make any permanent improvement upon it. It is 
cold and late in spring, apt to bake hard in summer, 
and to suffer from early frosts in autumn. It is not 
in a fit condition to support good crops, and the only 
way to bring it into a good state is to dry it. 

Some land is dry on the surface, but has a wet sub- 
soil : when the roots of the plants get down to this, 
they find at once injurious food, not only the acids 
already mentioned, but inorganic substances; the pro- 
toxide of iron, described in Chapter V., is very apt to 
form in such places, and is at once fatal if the plant 
can find no nutriment in other directions. In this case 
too the only remedy is to drain. The good effects of 
this operation on all soils suffering from any of the 
causes above mentioned, are very remarkable, and 
must briefly be specified before going farther. 



68 BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF DRAINING. 



SECTION III. ON THE CHANGES WHICH RESULT FROM 
DRAINING. 

When the drain is made and covered (for I always 
mean here covered drains), the water which falls upon 
the ground does not remain to stagnate, and does not 
run away over the surface washing off the besc of the 
soil, but sinks gradually down, yielding to the roots of 
plants any fertilizing matter which it may contain, 
and often washing out some hurtful substances; as it 
descends, air and consequently warmth follow it. 
Under these new influences the proper decompositions 
and preparation of compounds fit for the sustenance of 
plants go on, the soil is warm and sufficiently dry, and 
plants flourish which formerly never would grow on it 
in perfection if at all. It is a curious fact, too, that 
such soils resist drought better than ever before. The 
reason is, that the plants are able to send their roots 
much farther down in search of food, without ever 
finding anything hurtful. Every part being penetrated 
with air, and consequently drier and lighter, these 
soils do not bake in summer, but remain mellow and 
porous. Such effects can not, in their full extent, be 
looked for in a stiff clay during the first season; the 
change must be gradual, but it is sure. 



SECTION IV. ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF DRAINS, AND THE 
MATERIALS USED. 

These being the benefits that are to be expected from 
the introduction of drains into swampy and wet land 
of every description, it is obviously important to know 
how they should be made. With the exception perhaps 
of large main channels, to which all others converge, 
or for carrying off small rivulets, the drains should be 
covered. Open drains occupy much of the land by thei r 



PROPER DEPTH OF DRAINS. 69 

bulk, and can not be approached A'ery closely by teams 
on either side; they thus cause a farther loss of land, 
beside great inconvenience in working. Their banks 
and sides are nurseries of weeds, so that unless re- 
gularly cleared out they are extremely liable to become 
choked, and thus fail to do their work properly. An- 
other great evil is, that when water falls upon the land, 
instead of sinking through to the subsoil, it runs away 
over the surface; washing off fertilizing substances 
from the richest part of the soil, and carrying them 
away. 

For these reasons, covered drains are always to be 
preferred in situations where it is practicable to make 
them. There are several points of much importance 
in the construction of such drains. 

First, as to their depth; where a fall can be ob- 
tained, this should be from 30 to 36 inches. The 
plants could then send their roots down, and find to 
this depth a soil free from hurtful substances. The 
roots of ordinary crops often go down three feet, when 
there is nothing unwholesome to prevent their descent. 
The farmer who has a soil available for his crops to 
such a depth, can not exhaust it so soon as one where 
they have to depend on a few inches or even a foot of 
surface. Manures, also, can not easily sink down be- 
yond the reach of plants. On such a soil, too, deep 
ploughing could be practised, without fear of disturb- 
ing the top of the drains. The farmer should not, by 
making his drains shallow, deprive himself of the 
power to use the subsoil plough, or other improved 
implements that may be invented for the purpose of 
deepening the soil. There are districts in England, 
where drains have had to be taken up and relaid 
deeper for this very reason. It would have been an 
actual saving to have laid them deep enough at the 
first. 



70 



CONSTRUCTION OF DRAINS 



Second, as to the way in which they should be 
made, and the materials to be used. 

a. The ditch should of course be wedge-shaped for 
convenience of digging, and should be smooth on the 

bottom. 

5. Where stones are used, the proper width is about 
six inches at the bottom. Small stones should be 
selected, or large ones broken to about the size of a 
hen's egg, and the ditch filled in with these to a depth 
of nine or ten inches. The earth is apt to fall into 
the cavities among larger stones, and mice or rats 
make their burrows there : in either case, water finds 
its way from above, and washes in dirt and mud, soon 
causing the drain to choke. With small stones, 
choking from either of these causes can not take place 
if a o-ood turf be laid grass side down above the stones, 
and the earth then trampled in hard. Cypress or cedar 
shavings are sometimes used, but are not quite so safe 
as a good sound turf. The water should find its way 
into the drain from the sides, and not from the top* 
The accompanying figure represents the 
arrangement of the stones : a is the turf 
on top; if the water enters at the sides 
/;, h, it comes in clear, having filtered 
through the soil, and depositedevery thing 
in the way of mud which might tend to 
choke the drain. Some farmers prefer to 
make stone drains like fig. 4, having two 
flat stones laid against each other at the 
bottom so as to form a sort of pipe, and 
filling above them with small stones as 
before. In very swampy soft ground, it 
is sometimes necessary to lay a plank or 
slab in the bottom of the drain, before 
putting in the stones. This is to prevent 
them I'roia sinkinix, and making: an un- 
even bottom, before the soil becomes dry 
enough to be firm. 



Fisr. 3. 




Fig. 4. 




TU.E DRAINS PREFERRED. 71 

Stones broken to the size above mentioned are 
expensive in this country, and in many places they 
can not be procured; in England it is now found that 
tiles made of clay and burned, are cheapest. These 
have been made of various shapes. 

pj g a. The first used was the horse- 

shoe tile, fig. 5. This was so 
named from its shape: it had a 
sole fl, made as a separate piece 
to place under it, and form a smooth surface for the 
Avater to run over. 

h. Within a few years this tile has been almost en- 
tirely superseded by the pipe tiles; these are made of 
several shapes, as seen in the accompanying figures 6 



Fig. 6. 





and 7: the oval shape (fig. 7) is advantageous, because 
a small stream in the bottom will wash out every ob- 
struction that can be carried away by v,ater. These 
tiles have a great advantage over the horseshoe shape, 
in that they are smaller and are all in one piece; this 
makes them cheaper in the first cost, and also more 
economical in the transportation. 

All these varieties are laid in the bottom of the 
ditch, it having been previously made quite smooth 
and straight. They are simply placed end to end, a? 
at a, a, in figures 6 and 7; then wedged a little with 
small stones if necessary, and the earth packed hard 
over them. Water w^ill always find its way in through 
the joints. Such pipes laid at a depth of 2| to 3 feet, 
and at proper distances between the drains, will in 
time dry the stiffest clays. Many farmers have thought 
that water would not find its way in, but experience 
will soon show them that they can not keep it out. 



12 



PIPE TILES. 



Fiff. 8. 




The portion of earth next the drain first dries; as it 
shrinks on drying, little cracks begin to radiate in 
every direction, and to spread until at last they have 
penetrated through the whole mass of soil that- is 
Avithin the influence of the drain, making it all, after 
a season or two, light, mellow, and wholesome for 
plants. 

The appearance of tile drains in the earth is shown 
by fig. 8, representing a cross 
section. They form a connected 
tube through which water runs 
with great freedom, even if the 
fall is very slight. When care- 
fully laid, they will discharge 
water where the fall is not more 
than two or three inches per 
mile. If buried at a good depth, 
they can scarcely be broken ; 
and if well baked, are not liable to moulder away. 
There seems no reason why w^ell made drains of this 
kind should not last for a century. The pipe tiles are 
used of from 1 to If inches diameter of bore for the 
smaller drains, and for the larger up as high as 4 or 5 
inches. They are all made in pieces of from 12 to 14 
inches in length. An inch pipe will discharge an 
immense quantity of water, and is quite sufficient for 
most situations. These small drains should not or- 
dinarily be carried more than 4 or 500 feet before they 
Fig-. 9. p^^g jjj^Q ^ larger one, running across their 
ends. Where a very great quantity of water 
is to be discharged, two large-sized horse- 
shoe tiles are often employed, one inverted 
against the other as in fig. 9. 
Third, as to the direction in which the drains should 
run. The old fashion was to carry them around the 
slopes, so as to cut off the springs; but it is now found 
most efficacious to run them straight down, at regular 




«5^ 



DIRECTION IN WHICH tKAINS SHOULD RUN. 73 

distances apart, according to the abundance of water 
and the nature of the soil. From 20 to 50 i'eet be- 
tween them, -would probably be the limits for most 
cases. It is sometimes necessary to make a little cross 
drain, to carry aw^ay the water from some strong spring. 
In all ordinary cases, the drains running straight down, 
and discharging into a main cross drain at the foot, 
are amply sufficient. 

Tile machines are now introduced into this country, 
and tiles will soon come into extensive use. Their easy 
portability, their permanency w'hen laid down, and the 
perfection of their work, w^ill recommend them for 
general adoption. It is also to be noticed that it takes 
less time to lay them than stones, and that the ditch 
required for their reception is smaller and narrower. 
The bottom of it need only be wide enough to receive 
the tiles. The upper part of the earth is taken out 
w^ith a common spade, and the lower part w-ith one 
made quite narrow for the purpose, being only about 
four inches wide at the point. The bottom is finished 
clean and smooth, with a peculiar hoe or scoop (fig. 10). 
p.^ j^ This is necessary, 

because the tiles 
must be laid on 
an even smooth 
foundation. 



SECTION V. ON SUBSOIL AND TRENCH PLOUGHINGv 

In connection with draining, must be noticed an- 
other mode of mechanical improvement; this is subsoil 
ploughing. The subsoil plough is an implement 
contrived to stir up and loosen the lower soil, without 
bringing it to the surface. It follows the furrow of an 
ordinary plough, and goes dow^n as deep as it can l)e 
forced, in some cases from 20 to 22 inches. The sub- 

7 




74 SUBSOIL AND TRENCH PLOUGHING. 

soil is thus broken and mellowed, air iinds entrance^ 
injurious substances are washed down lowx^r, or, if 
there are drains, carried away, and the whole soil to 
a greatly increased depth is fitted for the sustenance of 
plants, it should be repeated once in five or six years. 
It is difficult to go dow^n more than a few inches below^ 
the old furrow at the first subsoiling; at the second, 
one or two more can be i^ained, and so on till the 
greatest possible depth is attained. In some parts of 
England they dig over the whole soil as deep as tw-o 
feet, but that is too expensive an operation for most 
parts of this country. 

Trench ploughing is also practised in certain situa- 
tions. A very heavy plough is used, of the same 
shape as the ordinary plough, but much heavier; ihia 
lirings the lower soil to the surface. Such an opera- 
tion is only to be advised w^hen the subsoil is of good 
quality, as otherwise the poor earth would be left on 
the top, and the richer surface soil buried deep beneath 
it 

SECTION VI. ON THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SOIL AND 

THE PLANT. 

We now come to a new^ department of our subject, 
in considering the connection w^iich exists between the 
soil and the plant. The attentive reader will already 
have perceived that the inorganic substances in both, 
show a certain marked coincidence. The source of 
the organic part in plants has been shown in a pre- 
ceding chapter to be partly the soil and partly the air. 
The inorganic substances can of course only come from 
the soil, and thus it is at once easy to perceive wdiy 
the differences indicated by Table I. constitute fertility 
Dr barrenness. It is because the plant needs these 
substances, that their absence is so destructive to the 
value of a soil. 



RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SOIL AND THE PLANT. 75 

They all enter through the roots, having always 
been previously dissolved in water. If they were 
received in fine solid particles, the ash of any particu- 
lar plant would be different according to the differences 
in various soils; but this is not found to be the case, 
as each plant has a peculiar ash of its own. 

a. Experiments have been made by preparing six 
different plots of ground in the same manner, and then 
mixing with one alumina, with another lime, with 
another soda, with another magnesia, and so on; all 
of these substances being reduced to a very fine pow- 
der. The result was that the ash in the same plants 
grown on all of these plots, was nearly identical in 
composition; thus showing that they did not take in 
every thing in the shape of fine particles that came in 
contact with their roots, but received their food in 
solution, and even then only such as suited their 
particular wants. 

It may be best here to explain that a substance 
spoken of as in solution is dissolved, according to the 
common acceptance of the word, just as sugar or salt 
is dissolved in water. 

The fertile soil then must contain all of these in- 
organic substances, because plants will not flourish 
without them. a. Alumina does not enter into plants 
to any appreciable extent, but is necessary to them for 
reasons which have been mentioned when referring 
to the stiffness and physical structure of the soil 
h. Manganese can not be considered indispensable to 
the ordinary crops, but there are some classes of trees 
which appear to require it in considerable quantities. 
The others on the list are found in all cultivated crops. 
The following table gives instances in three common 
ones : the analyses were made in Germany. 



76 



ANALYSIS OF THE ASH OF fLANTS. 





TABLE H. 






f ■ ■ 

la 100 lb3 of ash. 


Peas 


Field 
Beans. 


Wheat. 


Silica 


0-56 

0-G8 

2-96 

7-75 

38-34 

2'63 

27-12 

17-43 

1-88 


1-48 

0-34 

5-38 

7-35 

35-33 

2-28 

21-71 

21-07 

3-32 


1-92 
0-53 
3-02 

13-58 
45-44 

24-18 
10-34 




Lin)e 


M^ti'TlBsitl • « 


Phosphoric acid, 


Potash 


Soda 


Chloride of sodium, . . 


99-35 


98-26 


99-U 



There is a little loss in each analysis, as is almost 
invariably the case in practice. 

a. It will be seen from this table, that with the 
exception of the two substances above mentioned, 
alumina and manganese, all of the others named in 
Table I. are also present here. In subsequent tables, 
I shall have occasion to present the composition of ash 
from other crops, and it will be found that in these also 
they are, as a general rule, all mentioned. 

h. Other facts are indicated by this table, which are 
of much importance : it will be noticed that the ash 
of these seeds varies considerably in composition. In 
beans and peas, for instance, the quantity of potash 
and soda is much greater than in wheat, while on the 
other hand wheat contains most phosphoric acid: these 
points will be alluded to again. 

Some of the substances named in the table, as lime 
and magnesia, are in small quantity. Suppose 60 
bushels of beans to the acre, a very large crop, 
weighing 60 lbs. per bushel, and making a total weight 
of 3'600 lbs. Each 100 lbs. would yield about 2 lbs. 
of ash; at that rate, the amount of ash taken from an 
acre would be 72 lbs. Of this only about 9 lbs., ac- 



CONCLUSIONS DEDU'^ED FROM TABLE IL 77 

cording to the above table, would be lime and mag- 
nesia; about 35 lbs. would be potash and soda. The 
whole quantity 72 lbs. seems small Avhen taken from 
an acre, and either of the above portions of it appear 
almost unworthy of notice; yet it is found by expe- 
rience, that if the crops are unable to obtain these 
small and comparatively seeming unimportant parts 
of their whole bulk from the soil, they absolutely re- 
fuse to flourish. The farmer may furnish other manures 
as abundantly as he pleases, but if they do not in some 
form or other contain these missing ingredients, the 
plant can not be forced to grow thriftily or yield 
abundantly. The appearance of his field will say as 
plainly as w^ords could express it, that something is 
needed which he has not given. How many crops 
thus demanding food from their owners, do we see in 
almost every neighborhood ! Should not the farmer of 
whom such a demand is made, exert himself to supply 
what is wanted; and if he does not already know, to 
gain the necessary knowledge? 

Several points are established by such a table as the 
foregoing, and these may with advantage be briefly 
recapitulated 

1. Our cultivated plants require that all of the in- 
organic substances present in Table I. shall exist in the 
soil. 

2. They do not require them in the same proportion, 
the different plants differing in the composition of 
their ash. 

3. This composition of the ash is not accidental, but 
each plant has a distinct character of its own. 

4. It is thus rendered obvious that land which w' ould 
grow one crop well, might not be able to grow an- 
other having a different composition. A crop requiring 
little potash, for Instance, might flourish luxuriantly 
w^here one requiring much of this substance would fail. 
To the principle thus indicated, we propose to return 
in the next chapter. 7* 



78 



CHAPTER VII. 

EFFECT OF CROPPING UPON THE SOIL. ROTATION 

OF CROPS. 

Effects of cultivation. Composition of ash from the common 
crops. Differences in the ash from various parts of the same 
plant. Differences in ash of different crops. How particular 
classes of substances may be exhausted, and special manures be 
useful illustration in the use of lime. Bearing of these facts 
upon theories of rotation in cropping. Necessity of rotations, 
and care to be exercised in their management. 

SECTION I. ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE ASH FROM OUR 
COMMON CROPS. 

We are now able to understand the effect of constant 
cultivation upon the soil. This might indeed, to a 
certain extent, be gathered from what has already been 
said in the two preceding chapters; it is necessary, 
however, that the sketch of such an important part of 
the subject should be made perfectly clear and precise. 
The student will by this time know, that as the in- 
organic part in the seed of the plant consists mostly 
of those constituents which were shown by Table I. to 
be least abundant in the soil, the constant selling off 
of grain must in time very materially decrease the 
stock of such substances, unless the supply is kept up 
by the addition of manures. If the soil was very rich 
at the commencement, exhaustion might be quite slow; 
but if the stock of fertility w^as small, it would soon 
reach the utterly exhausted and worn out condition in 
which we see so many of our farms*. This and other 
points will be made more clear by a table giving the 
composition of our most common cultivated crops. 



COMPOSITION OF CULTIVATED CROPS. 



79 



TABLE III. 



Carbonic acid, • • 
Sulphuric acid, • • 
Phosphoric acid, . 

Chlorine, 

Lime, 

Magnesia, 

Potash, 

Soda, 

Silica, 

Iron. • 

Charcoal in asii, ) 
and loss, •• j 



t 
Indisin 


Wheat. 


Whtat 


Rye. 


Oats. 


Potatos. 


Turnips 


Hay. 


Corn. 




Straw. 












trace. 










10-4 


.... 


.... 


5 


10 


10 


1-5 


10-5 


7-1 


13 6 


2-7 


49-2 


470 


31 


47-3 


43 S 


11-3 


7-6 


60 


0-3 


trace. 


G 


... 


0-3 


2-7 


3-5 


2-6 


1 


2 9 


8-5 


2-9 


4-9 


1-8 


13 6 


22 9 


17-5 


15-9 


50 


101 


9-9 


5 4 


5-3 


57 


23 2 


29-5 


7-2 


32-8 


J27-2 


51-5 


42-0 


IS 2 


3 8 


trace. 


0-3 


4-4 


trace. 


5 2 


2-3 


0-8 


1-3 


67-6 


0-2 


2-7 


8(3 


7 9 


37-9 


01 


trace. 


1 


0-s 


0-4 


5 


1-3 


17 


4-5 


2-4 


5-7 


100 


0-3 


0-7 


.... 





100 


100-0 


1000 


1000 


1000 


1000 


1000 



These do not represent the exact composition of the 
ash from the above crops, in all cases, but should be 
considered only approximations. In different situa- 
tions, there is frequently a considerable variation in 
composition; this does not, however, aflect the general 
character, where the soil contains a full supply of 
necessary substances. The ash from healthy potatoes, 
for instance, never resembles that from a flourishing 
crop of wheat. The table then may be regarded as 
approaching sufficiently near the truth for all practical 
purposes. 



SECTION II. ON THE SEPARATION OF PLANTS INTO CLASSES, 
ACCORDING TO THE COMPOSITION OF THEIR ASH. 

I have inserted in comparison with the grain of 
wheat, an analysis of ash from the straw also, as an 
illustration of the diiference in the substances which 
they respectively draw from the soil. 

a. It will be noticed that in the ash from the grain, 
phosphoric acid is the chief ingredient, making up 
nearly half : potash also is in large quantity, being 



80 CLASblUCATlON OF PLAxNTs^ 

about one-third. In the straw ash there is but 3 per 
cent of phosphoric acid, and only 10 per cent of pot- 
ash; magnesia is also much less. 

b. In the grain there is not quite IJ per cent of 
silica, but in the straw there is nearly 70 per cent. 
Silica, then, is the leading ingredient in the ash of the 
straw, phosphoric acid in that of the grain. It is 
silica which gives the straw its stiffness, strength, and 
elasticity; when there is not a sufficient supply of it, 
the straw can not uphold the weight of the grain, and 
falls down or lodges, as the farmers say. 

c. The reason why nearly all of the phosphoric 
acid is found in the grain, will be apparent as we 
proceed to another part of this treatise. This acid is 
shown by the table to be more abundant than anything 
else in the ash of rye and oats: the same thing is true 
of barley and buckwheat. In the straw of all these, 
there is also a preponderance of silica. In the grain 
of indian corn, phosphoric acid is very abundant, but 
there is not so much silica in the stalk as in the straw 
of grain. 

The ash from all of these grains differs from the 
ash of potatoes and turnips in one essential particular: 
in the two last, phosphoric acid is comparatively a 
small quantity, being only about one-tenth; here, on 
the contrary, we find that potash is the most abundant 
substance of all, particularly in potatoes, wdiere it is a 
little more than half of the whole. In the ash of both 
potato and turnip tops, lime also abounds, and often 
phosphoric acid. Potash and soda too are here among 
the most prominent ingredients. 

If now we look at the ash of meadow hay, we 
perceive that there is still another difference : potash 
and soda together are about 20 per cent, phosphoric 
acid is but 6 per cent, while lime is more abundant 
than anything else with the exception of silica, which 
last is required to give strength to the stalk as in the 
sirnw. 



ACCORDING TO THE COMPOSITION OF THEIR ASH. Si 

We thus find that there are three great leading 
classes of ash established : 1. The grains, where 
phosphoric acid predominates; 2. The roots, where 
potash and soda abound; 3. The grasses, where lime 
becomes quite important. 4. The various kinds of 
straw may perhaps be said to constitute a fourth class, 
where silica is from one-half to two-thirds of the whole 
w^eight. 5. It may be well also to mention a fifth 
class in trees, the ash from the w^ood of which contains, 
in very numerous cases, more of lime than of any other 
substance. There are particularly large quantities in 
the apple and other fruit trees. 

SECTION III. ON THE EFFECTS OF CROPPING UPON THE SOIL, 
IN CONNECTION WITH SPECIAL MANURING. 

In view of these facts, w^e are now better prepared 
to consider the effect that cropping has upon the soil. 
Suppose in the first place that, as is too often the case, 
wheat or any other grain has been grown upon a new 
soil crop after crop, and nothing returned in the shape 
of marmre; the yield may be good for a number of 
years, but then it begins to grow less and less : what 
is the reason of this? It is, probably, that the jilios- 
phates are nearly exhausted; these v\'ere not so abun- 
dant as many other substances at the coir.mencement 
(see Table L), but more of them than of anything else 
has been taken away. Second, suppose that the farmer 
has sold all of his grain, but has been very careful to 
return the straw as manure : he does not see why the 
land should run down, and in fact it does not so quick- 
ly now as in the first case; still, after a time, it also 
begins to show marks of exhaustion. Table III. ex- 
plains this at once : in the straw, he has returned 
chiefly silica to the soil; it is, however, chiefly phos- 
phoric acid that the grain has taken away, and that 
he has been selling off. 



82 EFFECTS OF CROPPING, 

The same thing would result from exclusive cul- 
tivation of any of the other grains. Some soils bear 
this severe treatment longer than others, but there are 
very few that would not eventually become exhausted. 
If turnips or potatoes alone were grown, the loss would 
be of another description, but equally injurious. In 
this case, instead of phosphoric acid, it is potash and 
soda that are exhausted, and no amount of phosphoric 
\ acid would make good the deficiency. In the case of 
\ trees, the demand would more probably be for lime. 

The general rule may from all of these facts be 
considered as established, that cropping tends directly 
to impoverish the soil. We see by Table I. that silica, 
alumina, iron, and organic matter, in the soils there 
given, amount to at least 90 lbs. of every 100. In 
many soils they come up to at least 95 lbs. There is 
no fear, then, of exhausting the silica; alumina, as has 
been said, does not enter into the composition of plants, 
and iron is not usually a prominent constituent. The 
leading parts of the ash from the grain, the roots, and 
all of those portions of plants most valuable for food, 
are found not in the 90 to 95 lbs. made up by these 
abundant substances, but in the 5 or 10 lbs. necessary 
to make out the hundred. The quantities of these 
important substances contained in most soils are there- 
fore small; and hence as they are the very ones most 
largely carried away, some one of them is usually first 
exhausted, according to the class of crops that have 
been chiefly cultivated, as indicated in the preceding 
chapter. 

When one is gone, or reduced to a very small quan- 
tity, the crops which particularly require that substance 
will refuse to grow luxuriantly and to yield well : 
suppose it to be wheat, and the wanting substance 
phosphoric acid; there may be the greatest abundance 
of every other necessary constituent, and yet all of 
their good effects are more than neutrs^ized by this 



IN CONNECTION WITH PARTICULAR MANURES. 83 

one defect. By attending to such points as these, the 
farmer may often save himself much disappointment 
and expense. He may put on load after load of or- 
dinary manure, and stiJl not produce the desired im- , 
provement; when at the same time a bushel or two of | 
some particular ingredient, at one-twentieth of the 
cost, may have been all that the land wanted. , | 

a. In this way we can explain the wonderful effect ' 
often produced by a few bushels of lime, or of plaster. 
These were just the substances which were deficient in 
those soils where they proved so efficacious; being 
supplied, the soils at once became fertile. Where they 
produce no change, as is the case in many situations, 
it is because there is already a sufficient supply present; 
because some other substances beside these are also 
wanting; because the land is too wet, or is otherwise 
faulty in its phj-sical character; or because injurious 
compounds are so largely present, as to be fatal to the 
healthy groAvth of plants. 

It is not uncommon for land to be brought up at 
once by adding a small quantity of plaster, and the 
application repeated yearly afterward seems to be all /^ 
that is necessary. This seeming facility of fertilizing ', 
his soil, is apt to lead the farmer into a great mistake, | 
He finds that he can obtain heavy crops each year by j 
using a few bushels of plaster or lime, and is tempted \ 
to depend almost entirely upon so easy and so cheap 
a manure, to the neo-lect of all others. After a time, 
however, his crops begin to diminish again : he tries 
increasing the plaster or the lime, but w^th no renewal 
of the former effect; he finally resorts to common 
manure again, but with not even so much success as 
he formerly had; the land is impoverished beyond 
anything he has ever known. Thus in some parts of 
England it has passed into a proverb, 

*' Lime enriches the fathers, but impoverishes the sons;" 



84 INSTANCE OF FALSE PRACTICE. 

the idea )ving that the improvement at first is re- 
markabk, but that in the end the land is ruined. Is 
the blame in such cases to be laid upon either the lime 
or the plaster] Let us reason a moment upon the facts 
of the case. 

Here was a soil well supplied w^ith all of the sub- 
stances mentioned in Table I., excepting, by w^ay of 
example, sulphuric acid and lime (plaster of paris). 
The farmer adds plaster, which at once supplies the 
deficiency, and the land produces heavy crops; he adds 
it the second 3'ear with perhaps even increased effect, 
and so on year after year, until there is as much as is 
necessary in the soil. Now what is the reason that 
after a time the crops begin to decrease? There is an 
abundance of plaster, but may there not be a deficiency 
of something else? He has been constantly taking off 
large crops, and carrying them away from the land, 
with a variety of inorganic substances contained in 
them. As the crops have been larger than ever before, 
so the quantities of phosphoric acid, chlorine, mag- 
nesia, potash, soda, etc. taken off, have been cor- 
respondingly great. How has this constant drain upon 
the stock of these substances in the soil been met ? 
Why by a constant supply of plaster, that is, of sul 
phuric acid and lime. At last one or more of them 
are exhausted; and how is the loss made up ? Still 
by an increased supply of plaster; and because this 
plaster no longer does any good, it is said that the 
land has been ruined by its injurious influence. 

From the foregoing explanation, we may easily 
perceive that it is no longer plaster which the land 
requires, but perhaps phosphoric acid, potash, mag- 
nesia, or some of the other constituents of a fertile 
soil. They have been taken away, and nothing 
brought back but plaster; and now that they are ex- 
hausted, hundreds of tons of plaster would not make 
good their loss. It is then the false practice of the 



ROTATION OF CROP&. 85 

farmer, and not the plaster, that has so greatly injured 
his land. The rule becomes clear and imperative, that 
every one who uses such special manures to make 
good a special deficiency, should at the same time 
keep up the general stock by a liberal use of ordinary 
manure. 

SECTION IV. ON THE PRINCIPLES OF ROTATION IN CROPPING. 

Nearly all of the foregoing statements in this chap- 
ter, and in the preceding one, have borne more or less 
distinctly upon the theories or facts connected with 
the rotation of crops. It may be well to make a few 
direct applications of the knowledge we have now 
gained, with this particular subject in view. 

All good farmers know that the most exhausting 
system that can be devised, is to cultivate the same 
crop on the same soil, year after year. When a longer 
or shorter period has elapsed, as the land may have 
been at the commencement richer or poorer, the yield 
begins to decrease; an increase may be obtained again 
by the free use of manures, but the quantity necessary 
is so large, and requires to be so often renewed, that 
it is in most situations more profitable to change the 
crops, or alternate them. 

From such practical observations, have arisen the 
various systems of rotation that are in vogue in dif- 
ferent districts. Table III. shows how practical ex- 
perience has, in this case, hit upon the very course 
which science would have recommended. It has been 
shown by that table, and attention has been called to 
the fact, that there are several distinct classes of crops, 
when we consider them with regard to the composition 
of their ash. The classes are those which are found 
to bear a part in every good rotation, that is, grain 
crops, root crops, and grass crops, or the same three 
classes that were distinguished from each other in the 
early part of this chapter. 

8 



86 srSTEM OF ROTATION 

Suppose the farmer to have a soil which requires, 
as almost all soils do, the application of manure to 
render it fertile. He adds a good coating of manure, 
and then takes a crop of indian corn or wheat : this 
crop will carry away the largest part of the phosphates 
that were added in the manure; in most cases a second 
crop of the same kind w^ould not therefore be so good, 
and a third still less. There yet remains, however, 
from the manure, considerable quantities of other sub- 
stances, which the grain crops did not so particularly 
require, such as potash and soda; with these a good 
root crop may be obtained, potatoes or turnips or beets; 
after this there is probably still enough lime, etc. left 
to produce an excellent crop of hay, if seeded down 
with another grain crop of a lighter character than 
indian corn or w^heat. 

We perceive then that any good system of rotation 
must be founded upon the principle, that dillerent 
classes of crops require different proportions of the 
various substances that are present in soils, and in the 
numerous fertilizers that are applied for the purpose 
of enriching them. Thus the crops may be made to 
succeed each other w4th the least possible injury to the 
soil, and with the greatest economy in the use of the 
manures. It would be useless to recommend here any 
particular system of rotation as the best; for that is a 
matter to be decided by experience in each section of 
country, under the various circumstances of climate, 
location, and value of certain crops. I w^ish only to 
enforce the general principle that rotations are ne- 
cessary, and that they afford the only means as yet 
discovered, through w^hich the majority of farmers can 
regularly obtain heavy crops with profit to themselves; 
and at the same time can keep up, or even improve 
the value of their land. 

It is to be noticcfl, that even a good rotation should 
not be cor)t)W)fii ^1,0 long unchanged upon the same 



TO BE ASCERTAINED BY EXPERIENCE. 87 

land. After cultivating one grain crop for a very 
lengthened period in a rotation, it will be found of 
advantage to make an occasional change to some 
other. The land appears to grow tired of a crop after 
a time, and to do better w^ith another even of the same 
class. There are some districts in Scotland, where 
clover was for more than a century grown once in five 
years, their rotations in those districts extending over 
that space of time; now they can only get it once in 
ten years, or every other rotation, and that not so good 
as formerly : they call such land clover-sick. Instances 
of this character show very strongly the value of rota- 
tion in cropping, and establish by facts the theoretical 
view^ that has been taken of the advantages likely to 
result from such a system of cultivation. As we come 
to know more of the composition of our various crops, 
of the soils, and of manures, w^e may expect to attain 
greater exactness in our calculations of the amount 
taken off during any single year, or during an entire 
rotation. 

In each district, the farmer, by careful observation 
and study, can after a time mark out the system of 
cropping and of manuring best adapted to his particu- 
lar soil and locality. 

1. If he knows the character of the rock from which 
his soil was originally formed, his task is comparative- 
ly easy; for from the known composition of the rock, 
he can come very near that of the soil. 

2. If he has no knowledge of this kind, he can still 
hope to arrive at good results, by deductions from the 
know'n character of the crops that have been chiefly 
cultivated upon his farm. He can tell what are the 
substances that have been most probably exhausted by 
these crops, and experiment accordingly with manures 
in which those are the chief constituents. 

3. A still more satisfactory way, would be to procure 
good analyses of soils by really competent persons. 



88 GOOD ANALYSES REQUIRED. 

By these, the defect or defects would at once be pointed 
out, and the most economical remedy indicated. Un- 
fortunately few are able to procure such analyses 
readily, and the majority must therefore have recourse 
to one of the two first methods of examination, or a 
union of them both. 

I say " good analyses by really competent persons," 
with the design of hinting that some care is necessary 
in this matter. A poor analysis is worse than nothing, 
as it not only involves the farmer in unsuccessful ex- 
periments, but in their failure throws discredit on the 
wdiole cause of scientific improvement. 

Many persons make analyses of soils hastily and 
carelessly, grudging the time and caution necessary to 
the obtaining of a good result; and others are really 
deficient in their knowledge of chemical investiga- 
tions. In both cases, mistakes without end are usually 
the only result. 

It is not an easy thing to derive positive or valuable 
information from imperfect analyses; for they are 
usually most defective as regards the substances that 
are present in the smallest quantities, such as phos- 
phoric acid, potash, soda, etc., the true proportion of 
which, as has already been explained, it is of great 
importance to know. 



89 



CHAPTER YIII. 

OF MANURES. 

Necessity of manures. Irrigation, its management and effects. 
Classification of manures : vegetable, animal, and mineral. 
Vegetable manures : ploughing in of green crops, of straw, of 
seaweed, etc.-, advantage of these forms of manure. Animal 
manures : reasons for their remarkable efficiency. Animal 
flesh, blood, wool, bones. 

SECTION I. OF THE NECESSITY FOR MANURES IN MOST SOILS. 

Having now considered the character of the soil, 
and that of the crops in connection with each other, 
we see that there is no hope of keeping up and in- 
creasing the produce of any land, unless there is from 
some source a supply of fertilizing substances to re- 
store those that are carried away by the crops. Some 
soils containing constantly decomposing rocks, or 
peculiar springs, or subject to annual overflows where- 
by enriching substances are deposited, need no other 
foreign supply; but these are rare when compared 
with those that require a constant and regular system 
of addition, to render them properly productive. 

To the various manures employed for this purpose, 
we shall now turn our attention. Before taking them 
up in any regular classification, I may properly devote 
a few words to one particular method of enriching the 
soil, w^hich cannot easily be brought into either of the 
classes. I refer to irrigation. 



90 IRRIGATION. 



SECTION II. OF IRRIGATION. 



This method of improvement is of course only ap- 
plicable in particular situations, such as where a head 
and flow of water can be obtained, and where also the 
ground to be flowed is in grass or growing grain. All 
water, except rain water, even that from the purest 
springs, has mineral substances and organic substances 
in solution. As it flow^s over the surface among living 
plants, and in sinking through the soil comes in con- 
tact there with their roots, it yields up these substances 
for food. Beside such solid bodies, it contains in 
solution carbonic acid and oxygen, both of which the 
plant also receives with avidity. 

The surface of a field to be irrigated must of course 
be somewhat sloping, and the water is brought on by a 
main ditch at the head of the slope. In this main ditch, 
at proper distances, are gates to regulate the flow of 
water into smaller ditches, from the sides and ends of 
which again run small cuts; these are so arranged that 
every part of the field shall be flow^ed over by a thin 
but regular sheet of water. At the foot of the slope 
is another ditch, for the purpose of conveying away 
such of the water as may not sink into the earth. 
Where water is scarce, and the slope long, it is oc- 
casionally used several times in succession. When 
the flow has been continued for ten days or a fortnight 
at a time, the supply gates are shut down, and the field 
allowed to dry. The operation is often repeated once 
or twice in a season. 

The effect of water in this case, is not like that 
alluded to before in treating of swamps and wet land. 
Here there is no stagnation; the water is always run- 
ning and fresh. Land that is intended to be irrigated 
should have a porous subsoil, or, if not, should be 
underdrained; in either case the water sinks aw^ay as 
soon as the flow is stopped, the soil dries, and the 



CLASSIFICATION OF MANURES. 91 

plants get at once the full benefit af all the fertilizing 
matter that has been deposited. 

In many parts of this country, irrigated meadows 
and pastures might be formed, which would produce 
heavy gi-ass for hay early in the season, and then by 
occasional flowing furnish rich and abundant pasture 
during the hot and dry weather of summer. In the 
neighborhood of cities and large towns, it is sometimes 
practicable to irrigate with water from the sewers and 
drains; this is one of the richest of manures. In the 
vicinity of Edinburgh, Scotland, a poor sandy tract 
has by such means been converted into a perfect 
garden, which rents at an enormous sum, and furnishes 
successive crops of grass from early spring to late 
autumn. 

SECTION III. CLASSIFICATION OF MANURES. OF VEGETABLE 

MANURES. 

We will now return to the classification of manures. 
They may be divided into three great classes, vege- 
table, animal and mineral. These w^e will consider in 
the order above given. After all that has been said 
as to its effects, it is scarcely necessary now to give 
any elaborate definition as to the precise meaning of 
the word manure; anything is a manure that gives 
food to plants, either directly or indirectly. 

Vegetable manures are numerous and important; 
some of them have been already mentioned, when 
treating of the ploughing in of green crops. They 
are not so energetic in their action as other manures 
yet to be noticed, but are invaluable as a cheap means 
of renovating, bringing up, and sustaining the land. 
Clover is one of the principal crops employed for this 
purpose, more largely on this continent than any other, 
buckwheat, rye, rape, wild mustard, sainfoin, spurry, 
turnips sown thick, Indian corn sown thick, and cow 



92 VEGETABLE MANURES. 

peas, are some of those more commonly used in this 
and other countries. They add organic matter largely 
to the soil, which organic matter they have drawn in 
great part from the air, and their roots bring inorganic 
substances from the subsoil to the surface, so that it is 
within the reach of succeeding crops. There are dif- 
ferences of opinion in various districts as to the proper 
period for ploughing these crops under: it is a matter 
to be settled by experience and convenience. They 
not only add fertilizing substances to the soil; they 
also improve its physical character. A light soil is 
somewhat consolidated, and rendered more retentive 
of moisture, while a stiff one is mellow^ed and loosened. 
Some of these green crops, such as spurry and buck- 
wheat, will grow well on extremely light, sandy soils. 
After they have grown up and been ploughed in a few 
times, the land is so improved that it will bear crops 
of a more valuable nature; and thus by a continuance 
of them at proper intervals, it may not only be kept 
up, but steadily improving. 

The same effects follow the ploughing of grass land, 
and turning under of the turf. The thicker and hea- 
vier the sward the better, because then a larger amount 
of fresh, decomposable organic matter, in the form of 
roots, is added to the soil. Where land has been in 
grass for some years, say four or five, the weight of 
roots under the surface is in some cases twice as much 
as the w^eight of the grass above; these roots all de- 
compose, and of course enrich the soil very materially. 

There are few cases in which a judicious course of 
green cropping will not improve land. In the worst 
instances, it is sometimes necessary to make numerous 
trials before even the hardiest green crop will succeed; 
when this difficulty is overcome, and a good growth 
once obtained, experienced farmers say that the land 
may by proper after management be brought to any 
desirable state of fertility. It must always be re- 



PLOUGHING IN GREEN CxvOPS. 93 

membered in bringing up land by green crops, that 
they really add no inorganic matter to the soil; they 
only bring it up from the subsoil, and render insoluble 
combinations near the surface soluble. The inorganic 
part of the soil, therefore, is actually diminishing by 
the occasional crops which are taken; and while im- 
proving by these means, care should for this reason be 
taken to add occasionally some form of mineral manure. 

The practice of turning the turf upon one edge when 
ploughing, seems to be gaining ground: it is said by 
its advocates that the turf rots more surely and speedi- 
ly. Those who contend for laying it flat, say that the 
weeds are thereby more effectually killed, and that the 
fields may be made smoother. Potato tops, turnip and 
beet tops, green weeds, leaves, and every form of green 
vegetable matter, may be advantageously ploughed in 
at once, or carted to the compost heap. Nothing of 
the kind should be neglected. 

Straw is not usually applied to the land until it has 
been w^orked over by animals, and mixed w^ith their 
manure: in this form w^e shall refer to it again. When 
applied alone, it is usually best and most convenient 
to rot it down in a compost heap, as the long straw is 
only ploughed under with difficulty. On stitf clay 
soils it is, however, very beneficial to bury long straw, 
as then it serves to loosen and mellow the clay, both 
by lying among and separating the lumps, and by its 
gradual fermentation and decay. It has been found 
good practice, in many parts of the country, to draw 
out straw in the autumn, and lay a thin covering of it 
over winter grain. This serves as a protection during 
winter, and retains moisture w^hen necessary during a 
dry spring or early summer. By the time that the 
stubble is ploughed, it has decayed so as to turn under 
easily, and forms quite a rich coating in the way of 
manure. 

In the neighborhood of the sea, where seaweed can 



94 ANALYSIS OF SEAWEEDS. 

be obtained, the farmer should embrace every oppor- 
tunity for getting- it. In England and Scotland, the 
right of way to a beach w^here seaweed can be had, 
increases the rent of a farm several shillings per acre. 
On many parts of our own coast, too, the farmers are 
very eager to obtain it. The ash of some seaweeds 
analyzed by Prof. Johnston gave the following results: 

TABLE rV. 

Potash and soda, from 15 to 40 per cent. 

Lime, — 3 — 21 " 

Magnesia, — 7 — 15 " 

Common salt, — 3 — 35 " 

Phosphate of lime, ... — 3 — 10 " 

Sulphuric acid, — 14 — 31 " 

Silica, — 1 — 11 " 

This table show^s that these ashes are rich in the 
substances most needed by our crops, particularly in 
potash, soda, sulphuric acid, and phosphoric acid. The 
quantity of ash that they leave when dry, is larger than 
that in straw or in hay. When freshly taken from 
the sea, they contain a very large proportion of water. 

Seaweed is ploughed in green, or applied as com- 
post. In either case it decays very rapidly, unless 
extremely dry, and produces most of its effects upon 
the first crop. Many of the seaweeds contain much 
nitrogen ; and this, while it adds greatly to their value 
as manures, increases the rapidity with which they 
decompose. 

In England rape dusi is largely used as a manure, 
and with much advantage. The rape seed is pressed 
to obtain its oil, just as linseed is, and the hard cake 
formed by pressure sold for manure. Four or five 
hundred weight per acre are applied as a top dressing, 
or from 1500 to 2000 lbs. when it is ploughed in. 
This is therefore a powerful manure, and is so portable 
that it Avould be valuable in this country, could it be 



ANIMAL MANURES. 95 

procured at a reasonable rate. Where green vegetable 
manures of any description can be easily obtained 
away from the farm, the farmer will do well to re- 
member that there is an especial advantage in their 
application; they add to his land not only organic, but 
inorganic substances which have never been there 
before, and are consequently a clear gain to the soil 
in every respect. 

SECTION IV. OF ANIMAL MANURES. 

We will now take up the second class, the animal 
manures. These comprise the blood, flesh, hair, horns, 
bones and excrements of animals. Manures of this 
class are more pow^erful by far than the vegetable 
manures, because they contain so much more nitrogen. 
I now simply state this fact; the reason why nitrogen 
is so efficacious, will be given in a subsequent chapter. 
Blood and flesh are among the most valuable of all; 
wherever they can be obtained, they should be secured 
at once, and either buried or made into compost. All 
of the ofFal from slaughter-houses is of much value, 
though in this country it is often entirely wasted. 

It is not uncommon, in many districts, to see horses 
or cattle that die from disease, drawn out to some 
secluded spot, and there left to decay on the surface. 
These are knowm to be some of the most powerful 
manures that the farmer could obtain; equal to guano, 
poudrette, or any of the other more costly fertilizers. 
Every animal that dies should be made into a compost, 
or buried in pieces at once. The best plan is to 
separate the flesh, which decomposes readily and pro- 
duces a a immediate effect, and make use of the bones 
according to some of the methods to be hereafter 
described. 

The hair of animals is an exceedingly rich manure; 
for this reason woolen rags, and the waste from woolen 



96 



ANIMAL MANURES. 



mills, are both considered valuable in England; they 
are sold there at liom ^20 to $'40 per ton, and are 
eagerly sought after at these prices, as not only very 
fertilizing, but also very lasting in the soil. All of 
the hair obtained from the furs of animals is there 
scrupulously saved, and sold at a high price. Twenty 
or thirty bushels per acre produce an excellent effect. 
All these parts of the animal leave an ash corre- 
sponding with that of plants in the substances which 
it contains, with the single exception of silica; this 
does not seem to enter into the composition of the 
animal. We are then now able to point out distinc- 
tions between the inorganic matter in the soil, in the 
plant, and in the animal. They all contain the same 
substances, if w^e omit silica and alumina. 

TABLE V. 

The soil contains silica arid alumina. 
The plant contains silica, but no alumina. 
The animal contains neither silica nor alumina. 



SECTION v. OF BONES. 

There is one important part of the animal yet un- 
noticed, that is the bones. Their composition is, when 
dry, earthy matter about 66 lbs. in 100; organic mat- 
ter that burns away, about 34 lbs. 

a. This earthy matter consists, for the most part of 
phosphate of lime, that is, lime in combination with 
phosphoric acid ; these, as already shown, are two 
most valuable substances for application to any soiL 

b. The organic part is called gelatin, or glue; this 
is boiled out by the glue-makers : it is extremely rich 
in nitrogen, and is therefore an excellent manure. We 
thus see, at once, how important a source of nourish- 
ment for our land is to be found in bones. They unite, 
from the above statement, some of the most efficacious 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF USING BONES 97 

and desirable organic and inorganic manures. Both 
of these parts are fitted to minister powerfully to the 
growth of the plant. 

When the bones are applied whole, the effect is not 
very marked at first, because they decay slowly in the 
soil : it is also necessary to put on a large quantity 
per acre. The best way is to have them crushed to 
powder, or to fine fragments, in mills. Ten bushels 
of dust will produce a more immediate and -abundant 
result than 80 or 100 bushels of whole bones, although 
of course the effect will be sooner over. An advanta- 
geous way of using them, is to put on 8 to 10 bushels 
of dust per acre, and half the usual quantity of farm- 
yard manure. 

Boiled bones, that have been used by the glue- 
makers, are still quite valuable : they have lost the 
greater part of their gelatine, but the phosphates re- 
main; and the bones are so softened by the long 
boiling that they have undergone, as to decompose 
quickly, and afibrd an immediate supply of food to 
plants. 

Another most important form of applying bones, is 
in a state of solution by sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol). 
This is a cheap substance, costing by the carboy not 
more than 2h to 3 cents per lb. To every 100 lbs. of 
bones, about 50 to 60 of acid are taken; if bone dust 
is used, from 25 to 45 lbs. of acid is sufficient. The 
acid must be mixed with two or three times its bulk 
of water, because if applied strong it would only bum 
and blacken the bones without dissolving them. 

a. The bones are placed in a tub, and a portion of 
the previously diluted acid poured upon them. Aftei 
standing a day, another portion of acid may be poured 
on; and finally the last on the third day, if they are 
not already dissolved. The mass should be often 
stirred, 

b. Another good way is to place the bones in a 

9 



98 USE OF BONE MANURE. 

heap upon any convenient floor, and pour a portion of 
the acid upon them. After standing half a day, the 
heap should be thoroughly mixed, and a little more 
acicf added; this to be continued so long as necessary. 
It is a method which I have known to prove very 
successful. 

In either case the bones will ultimately soften and 
dissolve to a kind of paste; this may be mixed with 
twenty or thirty times its bulk of water, and applied 
to the land by means of an ordinary water cart. Used 
in this way, it produces a wonderful effect upon nearly 
all crops. 

A more convenient method in most cases is to 
thoroughly mix the pasty mass of dissolved bones with 
a large quantity of ashes, peat earth, sawdust or char- 
( oal dust. It can then be sown by hand, or dropped 
from a drill machine. Two or three bushels of these 
dissolved bones, with half the usual quantity of yard 
manure, are sufficient for an acre. This is therefore 
an exceedingly powerful fertilizer. One reason for its 
remarkable effect is, that the bones are by dissolving 
brought into a state of such minute division that they 
are easily and at once available for the plant. A 
peculiar phosphate of lime is formed, called by che- 
mists a superphosphate, which is very soluble; and in 
addition to this we have the sulphuric acid, of itself 
an excellent application to most soils. 

Bones are useful in nearly every district, and are 
peculiarly adapted to all, or at least to most of those 
situations, where the land, without heavy manuring, 
no longer bears good wheat, or indian corn, or other 
grains. In a great majority of cases, where land is 
run down by grain cropping, the use of bones in some 
of the forms above mentioned, is of all things the 
most likely to meet the deficiency. It will be remem- 
bered that the ash of grain is peculiarly rich in phos- 
phates; consequently, as grain is generally sold off. 



USE OF BONE MANURE. 99 

the phosphates are most readily exhausted; in bones 
therefore we find just the manure for restoring them, 
and with little expense. This has been already 
tried in some parts of the country, and with most en- 
couraging success. I would particularly recommend 
farmers to experiment with bones dissolved in sul- 
phuric acid. The dissolving of them is a simple busi- 
ness, and can be easily shown on a small scale, by the 
teacher to his class. He can do it, for instance, in a 
teacup or tumbler, or on a plate or a flat stone. The 
cheapness of this manure is a great recommendation. 
Two bushels of bones would not certainly cost more 
than $1*00; then say 50 lbs. of acid to dissolve them 
would cost by the carboy, $1*50, making only $2*50 
for a quantity quite sufficient for an acre, with half 
the usual dressing farm-yard manure. It would be 
w^orth almost as much as this, to cart the common ma- 
nure from the yard, to say nothing of its value. There 
are few farms on which bones enough might not be 
collected in the course of a year, to help out in this 
way the manuring of several acres. 

Bones may not only be applied successfully to the 
ordinary cultivated crops, but also to meadows and 
pastures. In some of the older dairy districts, a few 
bushels of bone dust per acre will at once restore 
worn-out pastures. The reason is, that the milk and 
cheese, which are in one form or another sold and car- 
ried away, contain considerable quantities of phos- 
phates in their ash. These are restored to the land 
by bones. It is calculated by Prof. Johnston, that a 
cow giving 20 quarts of milk per day, takes from the 
soil about 2 lbs. of phosphate of lime or bone earth 
in each w'eek. There would thus be required three or 
four lbs. of bones, to make good this loss. If it is 
not made good in some way, the rich grasses after a 
time cease to flourish; being succeeded by those which 
require less phosphate of lime, and therefore do not 



100 USE OF BONE MANURE. 

furnish, wlien eaten by the cow, so rich or so abun- 
dant milk 

All oi" these uses of bones which have been de- 
scribed, are understood and appreciated in England 3 
so much sOj that the bones are all collected with most 
scrupulous care, and are even imported from every other 
country where they can be advantageously obtained. 
It is to be hoped that the great waste of them in this 
country may soon cease, and that they will be eagerly 
sought after by American farmers. 

Thus much as to the fertilizing value of the various 
parts of animals: we enter, in the next chapter, an- 
other most important department of animal manures. 



101 



CHAPTER IX. 

MANURES (CONTINUED). 

Comparative value of manures from our domestic animals; value 
of liquid and solid portions: means of preservation. Why 
nitrogen renders manures so powerful and valuable. Manure 
from birds; reasons for its great efficacy. Guano; its compo- 
sition and value. Fish manure; nature of its action. Shell- 
fish. Saline and mineral manures. Lime; forms in which it 
is used; quicklime; hydrate of lime; carbonate of lime. Mag- 
nesian limestone. Marls. Greensand of N. Jersey. Shell 
sand. 

SECTION I. OF THE MANURES FROM DOMESTIC ANIMALS, 
AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 

The manure of various domestic animals is, in this 
country, most commonly employed as a fertilizer, all 
other manures being used in comparatively small quan- 
tities; and yet even these are seldom preserved and 
applied as carefidly as they might, or ought to be. 

The princip^al varieties are those of the ox, the cow, 
the hog, the horse, and the sheep. Of these, that of 
the horse is most valuable in its fresh state: it con- / 
tains much nitrogen, but is very liable to lose by fer- 
mentation. That of the hog comes next. That of 
the cow is placed at the bottom of the list. This is 
because the enriching substances of her food go prin- 
cipally to the formation of milk, the manure being 
thereby rendered poorer. 

The manure of all these animals is far richer than 
the food given them, because it contains much more 
nitrogen. This is for the reason that a large part of 

9* 



102 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PRESERVATION 

the carbon and oxygen of the food are consumed in 
the lungs and blood generally, for the purpose of keep- 
ing up the heat of the body. They are given off from 
the lungs, and also by perspiration and evaporation 
through the pores of the skin, in the forms of carbonic 
acid and water. 
^ From animals fed upon rich food, the manure is much 
I more powerful than when it is poor. In England, for 
instance, where they fatten cattle largely on oil-cake, 
it is calculated that the increased value of the manure 
\ repays all of the outlay. This is the reason why hu- 
man ordure is better than manure from any of the 
animals mentioned above, the food of man being rich 
and various. 

All these kinds of manure should be carefully col- 
lected and preserved, both as to their liquid and solid 
parts. The liquid part or urine is particularly rich in 
the phosphates and in nitrogen. This part is by very 
many farmers permitted in a great degree to run away 
or evaporate. Some farmyards are contrived so as to 
throw the water off entirely, others convey it through 
a small ditch upon the nearest field. The liquid ma- 
nure which might have fertilized several acres in the 
course of the season, is thus concentrated upon one 
small spot, and the consequence is a vegetation so 
rank as to be of very little use. Spots of this kind 
may be seen in the neighborhood of many farm-yards, 
where the grass grows up so heavy that it falls down 
and rots at the bottom, and has to be cut some weeks 
before haying time, producing strong coarse hay that 
cattle will scarcely touch. 

The proper way to save this liquid is to have a tank 
or hole, into which all the drainings of the yard may 
be conducted. If left here long, this liquid begins to 
ferment, and to lose nitrogen in the form of ammo- 
nia, which it will be remembered is a compound of 
nitrogen and hydrogen. To remedy this, a little sul- 



OF FARMYARD MANURE. 103 

phuric acid, or a few pounds of plaster, may be occa- 
sionally thrown in. The sulphuric acid will unite 
with the ammonia, and form sulphate of ammonia, 
which will remain unchanged, not being liable to 
evaporate. Others prefer to mix sufficient peat, ashes, 
sawdust, or fine charcoal, with the liquid in the tank, 
to soak it all up; others still pump it out and pour it 
upon a compost heap. One point is to be noticed in 
the management of a tank. Only the water which 
naturally drains from the stables and yards should be 
allowed to enter it: all that falls from the eaves of 
the buildings should be discharged elsewhere. Regu- 
lated in this way, the tank will seldom overflow, and 
the manure collected in it will be of the most valua- 
ble and powerful description. The tank may be made 
of stone, brick, or wood, as is most convenient, and 
need cost but very little. 

While the liquid manure is actually in many cases 
almost entirely lost, the solid part is often allowed to 
drain and bleach, until nearly every thing soluble has 
washed away; or is exposed in heaps to ferment, with- 
out any covering. In such a case ammonia is always 
formed and given off: it may often be perceived by 
the smell, particularly in horse manure. The fact may 
also be shown, by dipping a feather in muriatic acid 
and waving it over the heap. If ammonia in any 
quantity is escaping, white fumes will be visible about 
the feather, caused by the formation of muriate of 
ammonia. A teacher can exemplify this by holding 
a feather, dipped in the same way, over an ammonia 
bottle. 'Phis escape of so valuable a substance may be 
in a great measure prevented by shovelling earth over 
the surface of the heap, to a depth of two or three 
inches. If this does not arrest it entirely, sprinkle a 
few handfuls of plaster upon the top: the sulphuric 
acid of the plaster will as before unite with the am- 
monia, and form sulphate of ammonia. 



104 PRESERVATION OF HORSE MANURE. 

Manures containing nitrogen in large quantity are 
so exceedingly valuable, because this gas is required 
to form gluten, and bodies of that class, in the plant j 
this is particularly in the seed, and sometimes also in 
the fruit. Plants can easily obtain an abundance of car- 
bon, oxygen, and hydrogen, from the air, the soil, and 
manures. Not so with nitrogen. They can not get 
it from the air: there is little of it in most soils; and 
hence manures which contain much of it, produce 
such a marked effect. Not that it is more necessary 
than the other organic bodies, but more scarce; at 
least in a form available for plants. The same rea- 
soning applies to phosphoric acid. It is not more 
necessary than the other inorganic ingredients; but 
still is more valuable, because more uncommon in the 
soil and in manures. 

In all places where manure is protected from the 
sun, and from much washing by rain, its value is 
greatly increased. 

a. Horse manure particularly should not be left ex- 
posed at all: it begins to heat and to lose nitrogen 
almost immediately, as may be perceived by the smell. 
It should be mixed with other manures, or covered by 
some absorbent earth, as soon as possible. Almost 
every one who enters a stable in the morning, where 
there there are many horses, must perceive the strong 
smell of ammonia that fills the place. I have seen in 
some stables, little pans containing plaster of paris or 
sulphuric acid, for the purpose of absorbing these 
fumes, and forming sulphate of ammonia, h. The 
liquid which runs from barnyards and from manure 
heaps, is shown by analysis to consist of the most fer- 
tilizing substances; and it is calculated that where 
this is all allowed to wash away, as is the case in 
many instances, the manure is often reduced nearly 
one-half in its value. I have seen yards where it was 
almost worthless, owing to long exposure. 



MANURE FROM BIRDS. 105 

The farmers of this country need awakening upon 
the subject of carefully preserving their common ma- 
nures. In Flanders, where every thing of the kind is 
saved with the greatest care, the liquid manure of a 
single cow for a year is valued at $10; here it is too 
often allowed to escape entirely. Either they are very 
foolish, or we are very wasteful. 

SECTION II. OF MANURE FROM BIRDS. GUANO. 

The manure of birds is richer than that of any ani- 
mals, for the reason that here we have the liquid and 
solid excrements mixed together. On this account it 
is found to be particularly rich in nitrogen, and also 
in phosphates. The manure of pigeons, hens, ducks, 
geese, and turkeys, is very valuable, and should be 
carefully collected. The amount to be obtained from 
these sources may be thought so insignificant as to be 
unworthy of notice; but it m.ust be remembered that 
three or four hundred lbs. of such manure, that has 
not been exposed to rain or sun, is w^orth at least 14 
to IS loads of ordinary manure. 

Guano, a substance that has been so much used 
within the past few years, is a manure of this class. 
It is found in those tropical latitudes where there is 
seldom or never any continued rain. Immense num- 
bers of sea birds build their nests, rear their young, 
and pass their time, when not upon the wing, on the 
rocky shores and small islets. Here their excrements 
have accumulated, layer upon layer, for centuries, 
remaining uninjured in those dry climates: beds of it 
have occasionally been found, from 15 to 25 feet in 
thickness. The food of these birds consists almost 
entirely of fish, and hence their manure is remarka- 
bly rich in its quality. The guano, in its best state, 
is this manure concentrated by the evaporation of its 
water. 



106 



VA.RIETIES OF GUANO. 



The general composition of a few of the leading 
varieties is shown in the following table: 



TABLE VI. 



Variety. 


Water ; 
per cent. 


Organic matter & 
ammoniacal salts 


Pliosphates. 


Bolivian, 


5 to 7 

7 to 10 

10 to 13 

18 to 26 


56-64 
56-66 
50-56 
36-44 


25-29 
16-23 
22-30 
21-29 


Peruvian 


Chilian, 


Ichaboe 





This, it is evident at a glance, is an extremely rich 
manure: the quantities of ammoniacal matter, and of 
phosphates, are remarkably large. The Ichaboe guano 
contains much more water than the others, because 
the climate in that region is not so dry as on the west 
coast of S. America. It is also more decomposed, 
giving usually a strong smell of ammonia. 

a. The Peruvian, I3olivian and Chilian varieties, 
have very little smell of ammonia; but if they are 
mixed Avith a little quicklime, and gently heated, the 
odor becomes extremely pow^erful. 

h. This little experiment also shows that quicklime 
or caustic lime should not be mixed w'ith manures con- 
taining much nitrogen, as through its agency ammonia 
is formed, passes off into the air, and is lost. 

Guano is so energetic in its action, that it should 
not come in contact with the seed, as it might destroy 
its vitality. In dry seasons it frequently produces very 
little effect, owing to its not being dissolved. From 2 
to 5 cwt. per acre are applied; more than 5 cwt. 
makes vegetation too coarse and luxuriant. I knew 
of 8 cwt. being put upon an acre of turnips: they all 
grew to tops, and produced no bulbs. Even the suc- 
ceeding crop of wheat w^as so rank in its growth that 
the grain was miserable. The best w^ay of applying 



EXPERLMENT WITH GUANO. 107 

it, and indeed all of these powerful fertilizers, is at 1 
the rate of from 1 to 2 cwt. per acre, together with \ 
half the usual quantity of barnyard manure. The I 
supply of organic matter in the soil is thus kept up, ' 
while large crops are at the same time obtained. 

It is a good plan, in the case of winter grain, to 
sow on 1 cwt. when the grain is sown, and 1 cwt. in 
the spring as a top dressing. In sowing, it is best to 
mix with ashes, sawdust, peat, etc. The eifect of 
guano is not usually perceptible after the second year; 
and if the first season be favorable, its most decided ', 
action is in the first year. ^ 

1 have recommended that experiments be tried in 
dissolving guano, or at least its pliosphates, in sulphu- 
ric acid. The same superphosphate would be formed 
as by its action upon bones. Ten or fifteen lbs. of 
acid, to 100 lbs. of guano, would be sufficient. A 
smaller qantity of guano might in this w^ay be ex- 
pected to produce an equal effect. It is quite liable 
to adulteration, and should only be bought warranted 
as to its purity, that the farmer may have a remedy in 
a case of disappointment arising from its poor quality. 
This is a good rule to apply to all of these high 
priced manures. A' 

SECTION III. OF FISH MANURES. 

Another animal manure is fish, and one which is of 
very great value to districts near the sea. In many 
waters, white fish and other varieties are caught in 
immense numbers for this purpose alone; in other 
places large quantities of refuse, the heads and clean- 
ings, can be had. These are all extremely valuable. 
On Chesapeake Bay, in Maryland, the farmers collect 
this refuse from the fisheries with great eagerness, and 
cart it many miles inland. In other sections it is 
neglected entirely. 



108 FISH MANURE. 

The flesh of fish contains large quantities of nitro- 
gen, and acts with much energy in hastening the 
growth of plants. The bones contain more water, 
and consequently, in their w^et state, less phosphates 
than those of animals; but this very softness occasions 
their rapid decay, and more speedy action. Dry fish 
bones are richer in phosphates than the bones of ani- 
mals. Fish decomposes so quickly, that it should 
either be ploughed under, or made into a well covered 
compost heap at once: probably the last is best. It 
is difficult to cover them in the soil so that some loss 
shall not take place. 

The use of this manure, for the reasons given above, 
has been confined to the immediate vicinity of the 
sea-coast. It would be very desirable to find some 
method of preserving it so that it might bear trans- 
portation, without losing its good qualities, and with- 
out becoming offensive. Experiments are now being 
made, with a view to this result, which bid fair to 
prove entirely successful, and to bring this admirable 
manure within the reach of the interior at a reason- 
able rate. 

On many parts of the Scotch coasts, there are ex- 
tensive beds of scollops and muscles, which are got 
up and applied largely to the land with excellent ef- 
fect. Our farmers near the sea w^ould do well to seek 
supplies of this kind also. The shells of all shellfish 
are valuable, on account of the lime which forms their 
chief bulk, and the animal inhabitants are remarkably 
rich in nitrogen. They all decompose rapidly, and 
require immediate attention to prevent loss. 

Thin shells, such as muscles, soft clams, etc., crum- 
ble down quite rapidly: thick shells require cracking 
and crushing, to ensure their speedy decomposition. 



LIME. 109 



OF SALINE AND MINERAL MANURES. 

The last class of manures embracer those of a saline 
and mineral character. These are numerous, but not 
many of them have been as yet largely used in this 
country. Beside those which are known here, I shall 
mention a few of those that have been found most 
efficacious abroad. 

SECTION IV. OF LIME. 

I will commence with a mineral manure, whose use 
is most widely extended, in every country where agri- 
culture has made much advance. I refer to lime. 

Lime is ordinarily found in the form of common 
limestone, or carbonate of lime, a combination of lime 
with carbonic acid. Every 100 lbs. of pure limestone 
contains about 44 lbs. of carbonic acid gas. This 
may be driven off by a high heat, as in the lime-kilns. 
The lime then remains in wdiat is called the caustic 
state, or quicklime. It w^ill burn the tongue, if ap- 
plied to it. When water is poured upon it (this may 
be shown by teachers), it swells, cracks, heats, and 
finally crumbles to a fine powder. If the 'water is 
only used in sufficient quantity to slake the lime, it 
w411 all disappear, being entirely absorbed: it has in 
fact united with the lime, and become a part of the 
solid stone. The heat during slaking is caused by the 
chemical union of water and lime. A ton of lime- 
stone unites with about one-fourth of a ton of w*ater. 

If quicklime or slaked lime is exposed to the air, it 
gradually absorbs carbonic acid; and if left a long 
time, becomes nearly all carbonate once more. If a 
piece of quicklime be left exposed in this way until it 
has crumbled, it will effervesce again w^ith muriatic 
acid, as the limestone did before it "svas burned, thus 
proving the fact just stated. 

10 



110 BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF LLME. 

Lime is applied to the land in the three states above 
mentioned: quicklime, hydrate or slaked lime, and air- 
slaked or mild lime, so called because it has lost its 
caustic properties. It is better for the land in all of 
these states than it was before burning, because the 
burning has reduced it to an extremely fine powder, 
more fitted to be dissolved in the soil, and to be taken up 
by the plant. From the various tables already given, 
it is obvious that lime is an absolutely essential ingre- 
dient in the soil, being constantly needed by plants in 
all of their parts; but beside this, it performs other 
functions there of scarcely less importance, differing 
according to the state in which it is applied. 

a. If the soil be stiff and cold, if it is newly drain- 
ed, containing much of acid organic compounds, or 
if there are tough, obstinate grasses to eradicate, such 
as bent, etc., it is best to apply quicklime, or the caus- 
tic hydrate. In either of these conditions it has a 
most beneficial and energetic action; lightening and 
mellowing stiff clays, neutralizing and decomposing 
injurious acid substances, and extirpating many hurt- 
ful grasses and weeds. 

h. If caustic lime is applied largely to light soils, 
it may do harm by too rapidly decomposing the or- 
ganic matter, usually scarce in soils of this descrip- 
tion. In all such cases, and generally when it is not 
wished to produce such effects as the above, mild or 
air-slaked lime is best. 

The action of all varieties is invariably more mark- 
ed and permanent upon drained or thoroughly dry 
land, than upon that which is wet and swampy. All 
of these various states of lime act not only upon the 
organic matter in the soil, but upon the inorganic also, 
decomposing certain insoluble compounds, and bring- 
ing them into a state favorable to the sustenance of 
plants. Thus we see that this manure performs many 
most important functions. 



DIRECTIONS FOR USING LDIE. Ill 

It has a constant tendency to sink in the soil, and 
in one that has been heavily limed for many years, 
quite a layer of it exists in the subsoil: this may be 
brought up by deep ploughing", or is made available 
by drains, which permit the roots to go down. When 
applied as a top dressing, it should in almost every 
case be mild, and also when used in composts, where \ 
much animal manure is present. The reason why pre- | 
caution should be used in the latter instance, is one I 
that has been alluded to before, in speaking of ma- 
nures containing nitrogen. In all such cases, caustic 
lime causes a formation of ammonia from the nitro- 
gen, and a consequent escape of it into the air. Where 
much lime is mixed with the manure, its depreciation , 
in value is very rapid, owing to this loss. Where J 
there is little or no nitrogen present, and it is desired 
to decompose peat, or to rot heaps of weeds and turf, 
the caustic lime is to be preferred, as its action is so 
much more energetic. 

It is now considered the best practice to apply lime , 
in rather small quantities, and often, as then it is kept / 
near the surface, and always active. Where it is 
bought, lime should always, if possible, be in the state , 
of quicklime, as in that case there will be neither 
water nor carbonic acid to transport. In 100 lbs. of 
carbonate of lime or common limestone, are 44 lbs. 
of water; in 100 lbs. of slaked lime, about 25 lbs. of 
water, so that the saving in both instances by carry- 
ing quicklime is considerable. 

Numerous kinds of limestone, differing greatly in 
purity, are found in various districts. In some sec- 
tions they are all magnesian limestones or dolomites, 
as these are called by mineralogists, containing, be- 
side carbonate of lime, carbonate of magnesia. Where 
the magnesia is in large quantity, it is decidedly inju- 
rious, and in some cases is so much as to render the 
limestone inadmissible for agricultural purposes. It 



112 COMPOSITION OF LIME. 

is these from which the hydraulic or water cement is 
made. Although magnesia is necessary to plants, 
caustic magnesia, if introduced in large quantity into 
the soil, seems to produce a very bad effect, and lime 
that contains much of it is therefore to be avoided. 

Beside limestones, there are several other forms in 
which lime is largely used by the farmer. The chief 
of these is marl. This substance consists usually of 
the fragments and dust of sea, fresh-water, or land 
shells, more or less mixed with earth. When pure, 
the greater proportion is carbonate of lime. The fol- 
lowing table gives the composition of a very excel- 
lent one, lately analyzed in my laboratory. It was 
from Peterboro', N. Y.: 

TABLE VIL 

lbs. in 100. 

Carbonic acid, 35"00 

Lime, 45*02 

Magnesia, 0*66 

Iron and alumina, with a little phosphoric acid, . 2*69 

Sand, 9-57 

Organic matter, 7*06 

100-00 

Here the carbonate of lime amounts to about 80 

lbs. in 100, while the small quantities of magnesia, 

iron, alumina, and especially of phosphoric acid, add 

materially to its value. There are many marls which 

do not contain more than from 15 to 25 per cent of 

lime. It is necessary to apply these in much larger 

quantity, to produce an equal effect, and of course 

they will not bear transportation to so great a dis- 

{ tance. In using marls, it is always best to put on 

I heavier doses than of any form of burned lime, as 

\ there is not, from its mild nature, the same risk of 

aiidine too much. 



MARL. 113 

There are in this country some substances used 
largely as manure, and called marls, that have very 
little lime in them. These are in certain parts of 
New Jersey. The lime, in shells scattered through 
them, varies from 10 to 20 per cent in some speci- 
mens, in others there is scarcely any at all. The effect 
of these marls is, however, great upon poor soils, and 
in New Jersey they are very largely applied. The 
secret of their value lies chiefly in from 12 to 20 per 
cent of potash, which the best of them contain, ac- 
cording to the analyses of Prof. H. D. Rodgers. 

It is always easy to ascertain whether any substance 
supposed to be a marl, really is so or not, by trying it 
with a little muriatic acid. If there is much carbonate 
of lime, the effervescence will be strong and violent, 
owing to the bubbling up and escape of carbonic acid 
gas. Carbonate of magnesia and many other car- 
bonates would, it is true, produce a like appearance; 
but these are rarely found native, in very large quan- 
tities. 

On some sections of the sea-coast, a species of shell 
or coral sand is to be obtained, made up of shells or 
corals ground into fine fragments by the action of the 
sea: this is always a valuable manure. On the coast 
of Ireland, the fishermen go out and scoop it up from 
a considerable depth. It contains usually some organic 
remains, which add materially to its value. This, like 
the marls, may be safely added to the land in large 
quantities, without fear of injury to crops. 



10* 



114 



CHAPTER X. 

MANURES (CONCLUDED), SALINE AND MINERAL. 

Gypsum or plaster, its composition and properties ; reasons for its 
different effects. Common salt, its applications as a manure. 
Nitrate of soda, native. Sulphates, their use and beneficial 
action. Efficacy of these saline manures upon various crops; 
directions for their use-, precautions necessary in their applica- 
tion. Wood ashes, their general composition and value ; spent 
or lixiviated ashes. Anthracite coal ashes 5 reasons why they 
are v^-orth preserving. Pearl ashes. Soot, its effects, and the 
way in which it should be used. 

SECTION I. OF GYPSUM. 

Another important manure in which lime forms a 
part, is plaster of paris, also called gypsum, and che- 
mically, sulphate of lime. In this country it has been 
more generally used perhaps than in any other, and 
often with very great benefit. In many cases, a few 
bushels per acre bring up land from poverty, to a very 
good bearing condition : complaints are, however, 
made, that after a time it injures the land in place of 
benefitting it. This, in almost all instances, results from 
using it alone, without applying other manures at the 
same time. The explanation is of the same general 
nature as that given under lime in Chapter ix. The 
farmer has taken away a variety of substances, and 
has only added gypsum. If the land is entirely ex- 
hausted at last under such treatment, it is obviously 
not the fault of the gypsum. There are many large 
districts w^here it produces no eflfect; but it may al- 
ways be considered certain, that where gypsum or lime 
do no good, there is already, in one form or another, a 
supply of both naturally in the soil; or, as has been 



EFFECTS OF GYPSUM. 115 

previously explained under lime, some physical or 
chemical defect which prevents their action. 

Gypsum, before it is burned, consists of sulphuric 
acid, lime, and water; of the latter, there are about 
21 lbs. in every hundred. This water can be easily 
driven off by heating the ground gypsum. This may 
be done with a small quantity, by way of experiment, 
over a common lamp. During heating, it whitens : 
it is this burned gypsum that is used for the cornices 
of rooms, for making casts, for hard finish, etc. When 
water is mixed with it, a considerable degree of heat 
is produced, the 21 per cent of water is again ab- 
sorbed, becoming once more a part of the solid stone, 
and the whole mass hardening or setting, as it is 
termed, in a few moments. It is upon this property 
of hardening when mingled with w^ater, that the uses 
of gypsum in the arts, as above mentioned, depend. 

This manure frequently produces a most beneficial 
effect when applied as a top dressing upon pastures 
and meadows : it is also a favorite and excellent appli- 
cation to young corn and potatoes. It is of service 
not only by the valuable nutriment which it furnishes 
to the plant, but also from a certain power which it 
possesses of absorbing moisture and gases. 

a. Liebig has supposed that much of its effect upon 
grass land is owing to this property, that it attracts 
ammonia from the atmosphere, and retains it for the 
use of plants. This is without doubt an important 
effect, but should not be considered the principal one. 

6. To this same property is to be ascribed its action 
when scattered over compost heaps, or mixed into 
the liquid in tanks. In both cases it absorbs ammo- 
nia, and prevents its escape. White fumes of ammo- 
nia may sometimes be perceived, both by the eye and 
the sense of smell, rising from the surface of ferment- 
ing manure heaps. A little gypsum sprinkled over 
the surface of the heap, will arrest this evaporation 
and loss almost immediately. 



116 COMMON SALT AS A MANURE. 

c. During drought, it seems, by its power of attract- 
ing moisture, to aid materially in sustaining the plant. 
It is slightly soluble in water, and hence slowly dis- 
solves, either when buried in the soil or left on the 
surface. It is best applied in damp weather, as then 
it can be sown more easily, and will produce an effect 
more quickly. The quantity applied per acre is usual- 
ly not large. 

SECTION II. OF COMMON SALT, NITRATES AND SULPHATES. 

Common salt is a manure, the use of which is not 
only wide spread, but very ancient. In large quanti- 
ties it is injurious, destroying vegetation rather than 
increasing its growth. In moderate quantities, how- 
ever, it has been found on some soils very valuable. 
Such are most likely to occur in places far distant 
from the sea. The sea breeze carries small quantities 
of salt spray far inland, and deposits it upon the soil. 
All who live in the vicinity of salt water, know that 
its peculiar smell may often be perceived at a distance 
of many miles in the interior. For this reason salt is 
not usually found to be of much value as a manure 
near the sea. 

A small proportion mixed in with a compost heap 
is likely to be useful. Another good way is to dis- 
solve a little in water used for slaking quicklime. 
The compound thus formed is very energetic in its 
action upon vegetable substances, and has been found 
an admirable application to many soils, particularly 
on those where there is much inert vegetable matter 
that can only be decomposed with great difficulty. 
Common salt is, according to the popular definition, 
composed of chlorine and soda. 

There are other combinations of soda, that are be- 
ginning to be used in this country, and have been 
greatly approved of in Europe. The most important 



NITRATE OF SODA. 117 

of these is the Nitrate of Soda. This is composed of 
nitric acid (a substance before described) and soda. 
The nitric acid contains much nitrogen, and is there- 
fore very active as a manure. One or two cwt. nitrate 
of soda have been found, in many instances, to produce 
a very great growth. It gives a bright dark green color 
to the leaves, and increases the yield of grain. It also 
produces a marked improvement in grass crops and 
pastures. Grain that has been grown by aid of this 
manure is said not to give so much fine flour, being 
richer in gluten, and having a thicker skin. 

Nitrate of soda is in some districts of South Ame- 
rica a natural product, being found in a crust on the 
surface of the ground; it is so abundant as to be 
brought away by the shipload, and may be obtained at 
such prices as would w^arrant the application of it in 
moderate quantities. Other nitrates are manufactured 
which would be excellent manures, but the price is 
generally so high as to forbid their use with profit. 
Whenever refuse nitrate of potash, that is, common 
saltpetre, can be obtained, or refuse liquid in which it 
has been dissolved for pickling meat, etc., it should be 
mixed into a compost heap, and carefully preserved. 

There are several compounds containing sulphuric 
acid, called sulphates, that are also valuable whenever 
they can be had at reasonable prices. Those that 
have been most commonly employed, are the sulphates 
of magnesia and of soda. From their composition, 
both of these must be useful; but it would be necessary 
to exercise a degree of caution with the sulphate of 
magnesia, as it is very soluble, and much of it might 
do harm. It will be remembered that magnesia in 
any large quantity is quite injurious in the soil : small 
quantities are very useful. 

The refuse liquid from salt-works after the salt has 
been crystallized out, contains some soluble compounds 
of lime, magnesia, etc., and might, applied carefully 



> 



118 



COMPARISON OF SALINE MANURES; 



in small quantities, be useful. Pouring a little occa- 
sionally upon a compost heap, would be the safest 
and best mode of trying it. A large dose of this liquid 



would be fatal to vegetation. 



SECTION III. OF THE EFFECTS OF SALINE MANURES, 
AND THE BEST MODES OF APPLICATION. 

The above are instances of saline manures, the few 
last given merely as examples of a class. In the fol- 
lowing table are mentioned a few cases, recorded by 
Prof. Johnston, of their effect as applied upon vari- 
ous crops in Scotland : 

TABLE VIII. 



Nitrate of soda, ) 
1 cwt. per acre. ) 

Nitrate of soda, ) 
120 lbs. per acre) 

Nitrate of potash, ) 
1 cwt. per acre. ) 



1 cwt. per acre. 

Nit. pot. and nit. 

soda mixed. 

Do. do. 



If cwt. 
Do. do. do. 

1 cwt. nit. soda. 



ON GRASS LAND. 
Product per acre. 
5 tons 4 cwt. 

3 tons I cwt. 

2 tons 3 cwt. 

ON OATS. 

64 bushels. 
60| bushels. 

ON ■WHEAT. 

27 bushels. 
54 bushels. 



Undressed. 
2 tons 12 cwt. 

2 tons \ cwt. 

1 ton 1| cwt. 

481 bushels. 
40 bushels. 

18| bushels. 
42 bushels. 



These, it will be recollected, are most favorable 
results, selected to show how^ great an influence such 
small quantities of these manures may have. From 
what has been explained relative to the proportion of 



A MIXTURE SHOULD BE PREFERRED,' 119 

ash contained in the crop, and the substances of which 
it is composed, we can now understand why such small 
quantities of these manures, seemingly thrown away 
when spread over an acre of ground, should still con- 
tain enough to supply all that is required by the plant 
of their particular constituents. The largest crop of 
wheat mentioned in Table viii, 54 bushels, would not 
carry away in all of the grain more than 60 lbs. of ash, 
and of this not more than 10 lbs. would be potash or soda. 
We see, then, that the 1 cwt. of nitrate of soda sup- 
plied enough of that material to have furnished at 
least 150 bushels, and a large part of the straw beside. 
The supplying of such minute quantities to the plant, 
we have seen to be quite necessary, as much so as are 
the bolts and nails to a ship: these are but a very 
small part of its entire bulk or weight, and yet it could 
not hold together without them. 

When the farmer intends to use any of these ma- 
nures, it is in nearly every case better to make a mix- 
ture. One hundred weight of nitrates of potash and 
soda, of common salt, sulphate of soda and sulphate 
of magnesia, all mingled together, and applied with a 
few bushels of gypsum, would be much more likely to 
meet the wants of any soil, than a hundred weight of 
either one alone. Such mixtures are found remarkably 
effectual, and they are the basis of the artificial ma- 
nures now gradually coming into vogue. These ma- 
nures are very excellent if the price is reasonable, and 
the farmer assured of their purity. I have known 
instances of most audacious cheating in these things, 
and in a way too that could not readily be discovered 
unless by a chemical examination. The farmer should 
not buy these manures unless he has perfect confidence 
in the manufacturers, or unless, as was recommended 
with regard to guano, they furnish an analysis by com- 
petent chemists, and icarrant the manure sold to be 
equal in quality. If it fails him, he can then have 
compensation from them. 



120 ' EXPERIMENTS WITH COMPOST. 

Where such saline manures as I have mentioned, or 
others having some of the ingredients known to be 
valuable for plants, can be obtained at fair rates, the 
farmer would do well to mix composts for himself; 
adding 25, 50, 100 or more pounds, as he may require, 
of various articles to his manure heap; or making 
small experimental heaps to try the effect of different 
substances, and different mixtures, on his soils. This 
last is the best course of all, as then he feels his way 
with little expense, and only invests largely when sure 
of his return. It m.ust be remembered, that nearly all 
of these manures are so powerful, that if sown imme- 
diately with the seed, or laid on in too large quanti- 
ties, they destroy vegetable life. Applied as top dres- 
sings, it is, as in the case of guano, advisable to mix 
with ashes, or dry vegetable mould, so as to facilitate 
even sowing, and equal distribution over the surface. 
Just before or after a rain is the best time. In a dry 
season, all of them, excepting gypsum, fail to produce 
their usual effect, and in some cases are said to have 
proved injurious. Some farmers, on this account, ad- 
vise the application of a part in the autumn, and the 
remainder at the earliest advisable period in the spring. 
This is an excellent plan for several reasons. If all be 
applied in autumn, a part washes away during winter 
and is lost. The half which is added is enough to 
give the young shoots a vigorous start, and a firm 
hold in the soil before winter comes on; then in spring 
the other half comes with none of its strength or sub- 
stance lost, to push them forward through the changes 
of that season, and to ensure an early harvest. 

SECTION IV. OF WOOD AND COAL ASHES. 

Nearly all varieties of ashes are valuable as manures. 
Those from seaweed are used in some localities, and 
are of very great value; but where the whole weed 



COMPOSITION OF WOOD ASHES. 



121 



can be obtained, it is better to employ it in the fresh 
state, SO as to add its organic matter also. 

Wood ashes are very commonly used, and form a 
manm-e of great value. Below is the composition, 
from Johnston's Lectures, of ash from the oak and the 
beech : these are merely given as illustrating thf 
general character of wood ashes. 



TABLE IX. 

Perceulag-e of 

Potash, 

Soda, 

Common salt, . . 

Lime, 

Sulphate of lime, , 

Magnesia, , 

Oxide of iron, . . , 
Phosphoric acid, 
Silica 



Oak. 


Beech. 


8-43 .. 


. 15-83 


5-64 .. 


. 2-79 


0-02 .. 


. 0-23 


74-63 .. 


. 62-37 


1-98 .. 


. 2-31 


4-49 .. 


. 11-29 


0-57 .. 


. 0-79 


3-46 .. 


. 3-07 


0-78 .. 


. 1-32 



100-00 



100-00 



The substances composing these ashes, are seen at a 
glance to be of a valuable character for applying to 
the soil. Even without an analysis, w^e might con- 
fidently have asserted that this would be the case, from 
the fact that they had already been found proper for 
the support of vegetation. It will be noticed that the 
proportion of potash and soda is very considerable, 
being in fact more in the above ashes than in most 
others. Beside these there is quite an appreciable 
proportion of phosphoric acid, and a very large quan- 
tity of lime : part of this w^as in combination with the 
phosphoric acid. The potash, soda, lime and mag- 
nesia, were doubtless for the most part combined with 
carbonic acid, forming carbonates. The potash, soda 
and common salt, being soluble in water, of course 
act first and disappear first; the lime and other con- 

11 



122 USE OF WOOD ASHES, 

stituents come into action more slowly, but still are 
always steadily decomposing, and constantly yielding 
food for the plant. The efleci of a heavy dose of 
ashes, therefore, is quite lasting. 

A favorite application of this manure is as a top 
dressing upon grass crops, also for dusting over young 
corn and potatoes. For this purpose ashes are often 
used with gypsum. They are very useful to absorb 
liquid from composts or in tanks, or, as has been men- 
tioned in various places, to mix with guano and other 
})ortable manures for sowing. From the considerable 
])roportion of alkali contained in them, they are quite 
caustic, and hence seem to have a very good eifect in 
extirpating troublesome weeds, on meadows and pas- 
tures. Their action in running out poor grasses, such 
us bent, etc., when the land is otherwise well treated, 
is familiar to practical men. They do this by adding 
to the soil substances which encourage the natural 
g.owth of more valuable classes. 

Spent or lixiviated ashes, that is, those that have 
been used by soap or potash-makers, are of course 
much less valuable, inasmuch as they have lost nearly 
every thing that is soluble in water. Two thirds, and 
oftener three fourths of their bulk, however, continue 
unchanged, and in this part there still remains the 
lime, the magnesia, the phosphates, etc., which are of 
importance; for this reason, these ashes should also 
be ahvays carefully saved and applied. They are good 
for all of the purposes to which ashes are applied; 
good to mix with liquids or solids; and they can 
usually be obtained at very cheap rates. Being of so 
much less strength, they may profitably be applied in 
greatly increased quantity, and thus by the large pro- 
portion of slov/ly dissolving lime and phosphates 
which they contain, form quite a permanent addition 
TO the valuable ingredients of the soil. 

Anthracite coal ashes should not be neglected. 



ANTHKACITK COAL ASHES. 123 

There are always cinders enough to pay for sifting, 
and, when sifted, soap-makers are usually willing to 
pay a small price for them. This shows that they 
contain soluble matter enough to be well worth sav- 
ing. We have no very good analyses of anthracite 
ash. The English bituminous coals contain 8 to 12 
per cent of lime and magnesia, and some soda, the 
remainder being chiefly silica and alumina. The ash 
from American bituminous coals probably resembles 
the English in its character. Some partial examina- 
tions made in my own laboratory at Yale College, 
indicate small quantities of phosphates in anthracite 
ash, and in the specimens examined about two per cent 
of substances soluble in w'ater. Such facts all show 
that these ashes should be preserved, and applied either 
as a top dressing upon grass, or ploughed in as a part 
of composts. They would have much of the beneficial 
mechanical effect of common ashes, and are also good 
for sowing with portable manures. 

It has been said that when placed around trees in 
large quantities, they are injurious; and this is proba- 
bly true, because they have something of a caustic 
character, but it is no reason for their condemnation; 
w^ood ashes, or any of the powerful manures w-hich 
w^e have been describing, such as guano or the nitrates, 
would do the same if applied with like freedom. A 
manure which is highly beneficial in small quantity, 
may, in large quantity, be perfectly destructive to 
vegetation. 

SECTION V. OF PEAT ASHES, SOOT, ETC. 

In all situations where peat is burned, the ashes 
•will be found worth something as manure. They 
usually contain 5 or 6 per cent of potash and soda, con- 
siderable quantities of lime, magnesia, iron, etc., being 
therefore worth about as much as the poorer kinds of 



124 PEAT ASHES. 

wood ashes. In wet land where varieties of peat 
abound, which are only decomposed with great diffi- 
culty, it is sometimes advisable to burn on a large 
scale, for the purpose of obtaining the ash as manure. 
Heaps are made at convenient distances directly upon 
the surface of the bog, and the fire started by means 
of a little dry peat in the centre of each heap. As it 
burns through to the outside, fresh peat is dug up and 
thrown on, and so the process may be kept up as long 
as desirable. 

It is to be observed, as to all these varieties of ashes, 
that their value is greatly impaired by exposure to the 
weather. This is in very many cases not attended 
to; the ash heap is exposed to rain, and often to the 
drippings of a roof beside. In either case a large 
portion of the soluble and most valuable ingredients 
are washed away, and the worth of the ashes to the 
same extent diminished. They should, always, for 
these reasons, be kept carefully covered. 

Soot is a manure that is much neoflected in this 
country, but is highly valued abroad. It results from 
a species of distillation of wood, or of bituminous 
coal; the products of this distillation are condensed 
on the sides of the chimney, as the ascending smoke 
cools. The smoke also carries up and deposits large 
quantities of the inorganic bodies from the fuel. Soot 
thus comes to contain a great variety of both inorganic 
and organic bodies. We find, for one very prominent 
constituent, a large quantity of ammonia. Beside 
this, there are phosphates, sulphates, carbonates and 
chlorides of lime, potash, soda, iron, and magnesia. 
These are the chief inorganic substances, and show it 
to be a quite powerful manure. It contains so much 
^ammonia that when laid in heaps of grass, the plants 
\mder it are destroyed very speedily. 

No analysis of soot is given here, because from the 
way in which it is deposited, the composition must 



SOOT A VALUABLE MANURE. 125 

vary greatly with the fuel, and with the circumstances 
of its combustion. In very dry seasons, soot, liks 
some other of the powerful manures we have men- 
tioned, sometimes does injury. From 30 to 60 bushels 
per acre are applied, commonly as a top dressing. It 
gives a beautiful dark green color to grass or grain, 
and on many soils increases the yield very largely. 
If a little exertion were made, there are few places 
where considerable quantities of this strong manure 
could not be obtained. 

In Great Britain it has been proposed to crush de- 
caying granites, to mix them in heaps with quick- 
lime, and then allow the whole to stand for some 
months. Granite contains much potash, and it is sup- 
posed that by the prolonged action of the caustic lime, 
a part of this would become soluble, and fit for the 
nourishment of plants. In some parts of this country, 
masses of decayed rock exist, which it would be w^ell 
to examine with reference to their economical value 
for applying to the land. 



126 



CHAPTER XL 

COMPOSITION OF THE DIFFERENT CROPS. 

Distribution of substances in various parts of the plant. Wheat; 
wheaten flour; gluten. Time of cutting grain. Rye flour. 
Barley. Oatmeal. Buckwheat. Indian Corn. Peas and Beans. 
Potatoes, Turnips, Carrots, Beets, etc. Comparative amounts 
of nutritive matter per acre. Cabbage. Grass crops. 

SECTION I. OF WHEAT, RYE AND BARLEY. 

We have already, to a considerable extent, entered 
upon this subject; but the information given, parti- 
cularly with regard to the organic part of crops, has 
been of a very general character. We have noticed 
the chief substances which compose this part, but have 
said little as to their distribution in the plant, or in its 
several portions. 

Various points relative to the composition of ash 
from the straw, grain, and roots of our ordinary crops, 
have been noticed in Chapter III, and we shall not 
revert to them at any length here. 

In the stalk and leaves of grain, we find that woody 
fibre is the leading substance; constituting in some 
cases, when the plant is ripe, more than three-fourths 
of the whole weight. In the grain, on the other hand, 
woody fibre only amounts to 2 or 3 per cent. The 
largest part here usually consists of starch : there are 
also considerable quantities of gluten, or of some other 
bodies having the same nature, containing nitrogen; 
and beside these, some oily or fatty substances. In 
the straw, these last only exist in very small quantities 



COMPOSITION OF GRAIN AND FLOUR, 127 

a. All grains, as sold in market, or stored in gra- 
naries, and in the state usually considered dry, contain 
from 10 to 16 per cent of water, which may be driven 
off by a gentle heat. Nearly every variety of flour has 
a little larger amount than the above. 

We will now notice the composition of some of the 
leading varieties of grain, in their organic part. 

Wheat is one of the most important of all crops. 
The grain contains from 50 to 70 per cent of starch, 
from 10 to 20 per cent of gluten, and from 3 to 5 per 
cent of fatty matter. The proportion of gluten is said 
to be largest in the grain of quite warm countries. 

a. It is a singular fact, that in all the seeds of 
wheat, and of other grains, the principal part of the 
oil lies near, or in the skin, as also does a large por- 
tion of the gluten. The bran owes to this much of 
its nutritive and fattening qualities. Thus, in refining 
our flour to the utmost possible extent, we diminish 
somewhat its value for food. The phosphates of the 
ash also lie to a great degree in the skin. 

h. These substances seem all to be collected here 
for the benefit of the young shoot. When it first 
starts, and until it appears above the surface and ex- 
pands its first true leaves, it has to depend for nutri- 
ment on the stores already provided in the seed. 
These have been prepared not only, but deposited in 
that part of the seed most near to the germ, so that 
its nourishment may be easily and readily obtained. 

The best fine flour contains about 70 lbs. of starch 
in each hundred. The residue of the hundred lbs. 
consists of 10 or 12 lbs. gluten, 6 to 8 lbs. of sugar and 
gum, 10 to 14 lbs. of water, and a little oil. 

Gluten, as has been mentioned, swells up to a great 
bulk when heated, and becomes full of holes. The 
same thing takes place in the baking of bread. It is 
the gluten that gives tenacity to the dough, so that 
when bubbles of gas are liberated during the fermen- 



128 TIME FOR CUTTING GRAIN. 

tation produced by yeast, the gluten stretches as it 
expands, and thus leaves the baked bread light and 
full of little holes. Flour which contains much gluten, 
is that which is ordinarily called strong. 

The time of cutting grain very sensibly affects the 
proportion of fine flour and bran yielded by samples 
of it. Careful experiments have shown, with regard to 
wheat, that when cut from 10 to 14 days before it is 
fully ripe, the grain not only weighs heavier, but 
measures more : it is positively better in quality, pro- 
ducing a larger proportion of fine flour to the bushel. 
When the grain is in the milk, there is but little woody 
fibre; nearly every thing is starch, gluten, sugar, etc., 
with a large percentage of water. If cut 10 or 12 
days before full ripeness, the proportion of woody 
fibre is still small; but as the grain ripens, the thick- 
ness of skin rapidly increases, woody fibre being formed 
at the expense of the starch and sugar; these must 
obviously diminish in a corresponding degree, the 
quality of the grain being of course injured. The 
same thing is true as to all of the other grains. 

It has been stated that what is ordinarily called dry 
flour, contains from 12 to 16 per cent of water. When 
made into bread and baked, it retains this, and absorbs 
in addition a much larger quantity. Prof Johnston 
gives, as the result of some trials made in his labora- 
tory on bread one day old, the large proportion of 45 
lbs. of water in 100 lbs. of bread. Dumas found 45 
per cent in bread at Paris. This is much more than 
is usually supposed possible, yet there is every reason 
to consider the above determination correct. We may 
then conclude that every 100 lbs. of bread, in the or- 
dinary state as we use it, contains from 30 to 45 lbs. 
of water. Strong flour, that which was mentioned as 
containing much gluten, and rising well in bread, will 
absorb and retain a still larger amount of water: it is 
therefore most profitable to the baker. 



RYE AND BARLEY. 129 

Rye flour more nearly resembles wheaten flour in 
its composition than any other; it has, however, more 
of certain gummy and sugary substances, which make 
it tenacious, and also impart a sweetish taste. In 
baking all grains and roots which have much starch 
in them, a certain change takes place in their chemi- 
cal composition. 

If starch be taken and exposed to a carefully gra- 
duated heat for a few days, it will be I'ound to have 
changed its character, to have become partially soluble 
in W' ater, and also a little sweet. By the action of 
heat it has been converted into a species of sw^eetish 
gum, called dextrine. This is the change which 
occurs in baking; a portion of the starch is altered 
into this gum or dextrine, communicating the sweetish 
taste w^hich is observable in good bread. By baking, 
then, flour becomes more nutritious, and more easily 
digestible, because more soluble. . This alteration hap- 
pens probably in baking any grain, but as wheat and 
rye are more used for making bread than other grains, 
we are better acquainted with the transformations 
w^iich occur, in them through the agency of heat. 

Barley contains rather less starch than wheat, also 
'.ess sugar and gum. There is little gluten, but a sub- 
stance somewhat like it, and containing about the 
same amount of nitrogen. 

a. The malting of barley depends on a peculiar 
change w^hich takes place during germination, or the 
sprouting of the seed. The starch, forming the prin- 
cipal part of it, and of all or nearly all grains, is, as 
we know, insoluble in water; how then is it to be of 
use in nourishing the young shoot? 

h. When the s^ed, moistened by w^ater, and warmed 
by the summer sun, swells and pushes forth its shoot, 
a peculiar substance called diastase is formed, which 
has the property of changing starch into sugar. This 
sugar is of course soluble, and goes at once into the 



130 OATS, BUCKWHEAT, RICE. 

shoot, communicating that sweetness so observable in 
its first growth. 

c. Barley is moistened and laid in heaps to sprout; 
when the sprouts have got to the proper length, the 
heaps are opened, dried, and heated, to stop further 
growth, and the sprouts are all rubbed off. The 
barley is then in the state called 7naU; the sugar from 
this is extracted to make beer, having all been formed 
from its starch by the action of diastase. 

Oatmeal is little used as food in this country, but it 
is equal, if not superior in its nutritious qualities, to 
flour from any of the other grains; superior, I have 
no doubt, to most of the fine wheaten flour of northern 
latitudes. It contains from 10 to 18 per cent of a 
body having about the same amount of nitrogen as 
gluten. Beside this there is a considerable quantity 
of sugar and gum, and from 5 to 6 per cent of oil or 
fatty matter; which may be obtained in the form of 
a clear fragrant liquid. Oatmeal cakes owe their 
peculiar agreeable taste and smell to this oil. Oat- 
meal, then, has not only an abundance of substance 
containing nitrogen, but is also quite fattening. It is, 
in short, an excellent food for working animals, and, 
as has been abundantly proved in Scotland, for work- 
ing men also. 

SECTION 11. OF BUCKWHEAT, RICE, INDIAN CORN, PEAS 
AND BEANS. 

Buckwheat is less nutritious than the other grains 
which we have noticed. Its flour has from 6 to 10 
per cent of nitrogenous compounds; about 50 per 
cent of starch, and from 5 to 8 of sugar and gum. In 
speaking of buckwheat or of oats, we of course mean 
without the husks. 

Rice was formerly supposed to contain little nitro- 
gen, but recent examinations have shown that there 



RICE, INDIAN CORN. 131 

is a considerable proportion, some 6 or 8 per cent of 
a substance like gluten. The percentage of fatty 
matter and of sugar is quite small, but that of starch 
much larger than in any grain yet mentioned, being 
between SO and 90 per cent, usually about 85. The 
dust or siftings separated from rice in cleaning for 
market, are stated by Prof. Johnston to contain 4 to 5 
per cent of fatty matter, and are therefore valuable for 
feeding. 

Indian corn is the last of the grains that we shall 
notice. This contains about 60 per cent of starch, 
nearly the same as oats. The proportion of oil and 
gum is large, about 10 per cent; this explains the 
fattening properties of Indian meal, so well know^n to 
practical men. There is, beside these, a good propor- 
tion of sugar. The nitrogenous substances are also 
considerable in quantity, some 12 to 16 per cent. All 
of these statements are from the prize essay of Mr. J. 
H. Salisbury, published by the N. Y. State Agricul- 
tural Society. They show that the results of European 
chemists hitherto published, have probably been ob- 
tained by the examination of varieties inferior to ours; 
they have not placed Indian corn much above the level 
of buckwheat or rice, whereas from the above it is 
seen to be in most respects superior to any other grain. 

The same paper by Mr. Salisbury indicates some 
value in the cob of this grain. It contains about 2 
per cent of pjuteii and gum, and 1 or 2 per cent of 
sugar, with a little starch. It has therefore some im- 
portance of its own as food, when ground up with 
the grain, according to a practice recommended of 
late by many farmers. The oil of Indian corn, like 
that of oats, has a peculiar odor and taste, communi- 
cating both to the meal. 

Sweet corn differs from all of the other varieties, con- 
taining only about 18 per cent of starch. The amount 
of sugar is of course quite large; the nitrogenous sub- 



132 PEAS AND BEANS. 

stances amount to the very large proportion of about 
20 per cent, of gum to 13 or 14, and of oil to about 11. 
This, from the above results, is one of the most nou- 
rishing crops grown. If it can be made to yield as 
much per acre as the harder varieties, it is well worthy 
of a trial on a large scale. 

We now come to a different class of crops, remark- 
able for their nutritious properties. The best known 
of these are peas and beans. The most complete 
analyses yet made, which are French, give the per- 
centage of starch at about 40. The amount of oily 
matter is small, and of sugar only about 2 per cent. 
The nitrogenous bodies are of a peculiar nature, and 
are usually called legumin or albumen; they contain 
about as much nitrogen as gluten, and, in the dried 
peas or bean meal, amount to from 25 to 30 per cent. 
The meal, in its ordinary condition, contains from 15 
to 20 per cent of w^ater. 

Both peas and beans are, according to the above 
statements, extremely nutritious. Experience in 
France, Germany and England, sustains this theoreti- 
cal view. They are in all of those countries highly 
valued for feeding to stock, and are also a chief reli- 
ance as food among the lower classes, with whom they 
take the place of bread. They occasionally come into 
a rotation with great advantage, and their field culture 
will probably be gradually extended in this country. 

There is one class of seeds, such as linseed, rape 
seed, etc., which abound in oil, amounting in some 
cases to from 18 to 25 per cent; this may be, and is, 
separated by simple pressure. Beside the oil, they are 
uncommonly rich in nitrogenous substances, containing 
about as much as peas or beans. These seeds, then, 
are of great value for feeding to fattening animals. A 
few pounds per day increases their growth remarkably. 
The linseed cake, from which the oil has been mostly 
expressed, is a most admirable food, and is nearly all 



ROOT CROPS. 133 

exported from this country to England, for the use of 
British farmers, who know its value and are eager to 
purchase it. 

SECTION III. OF THE ROOT CROPS 

In the root crops we find quite different character- 
istics from any yet mentioned. In some of them 
starch almost entirely disappears, other bodies of a 
somewhat similar nature taking its place. The po- 
tato, and a few other less known crops, are exceptions. 
Another distinguishing feature is the quantity of watei 
which they all contain. About 16 per cent has been 
the highest amount hitherto mentioned, but now we 
shall find a very greatly increased proportion. 

The potato, as taken from the ground, contains 
about 75 per cent of water, or three fourths of its 
whole weight; of the remainder, from 14 to 20 per 
cent is starch. There is about 1 per cent of a nitro- 
genous compound like albumen, and the rest is made 
up of woody fibre, gum, and sugar. The starch of the 
potato is contained in little cells, and is in small rounded 
masses. Grating destroys the cells, and water will 
separate the starch as described before. When the 
tuber is attacked by potato disease, its first appear- 
ance is in the walls of the cells, the starch remaining 
uninjured for a considerable time; it can even be sepa- 
rated after the disease has progressed till the potato is 
worthless for any other purpose. 

By keeping, the starch of potatoes gradually dimi- 
nishes, being converted into a species of gum. This 
is the reason why potatoes are apt to be watery and 
soft in the spring, and to have a disagreeable sweet- 
ish taste. When they are allowed to sprout, from 
being in too warm a place, a great deterioration en- 
sues. This is for the reason that the starch, as in the 
grains, being turned in a great degree to sugar and 

12 



134 ROOT CROPS. 

gum during germination, goes into the young shooi; 
subtracting, of course, much from the nutritive quali- 
ties of the tuber. 

The turnip abounds still more in water than the po- 
tato. The proportion given by Boussingault, is nine- 
tenths of its whole weight : other authors agree in 
making it about the same quantity. The remaining 
tenth contains %voody fibre, a little oily substance, 
some gum, and about one per cent of nitrogenous com- 
pound. There is nothing more than a trace of starch, 
but a small percentage of a substance called pedine, 
which seems to answer the same purpose in feeding. 

The mangold-wurtzel, the carrot, the beet, and the 
parsnip, all contain in their fresh state from 85 to 90 
per cent of water. The parsnip and the carrot have 
a little more of nitrogenous compounds than the 
others. The sugar-beet, according to Payen, has about 
10 per cent of sugar; carrots and parsnips, which are 
also quite sw^eet, have from 5 to 7 per cent. In nearly 
all of these roots, there are small quantities of starch, 
gum, and oily matter. 

Such facts as the above may seem to place thesG 
crops very low in the scale, as to their nutritive pro- 
perties; but before we decide this question, we must 
consider the amount that is produced per acre. 

a. Twenty-five tons of turnips is not an uncommon 
crop on good land: if these contain but 10 lbs. of 
solid matter in every 100, the aggregate amount from 
25 tons would be 5000 lbs. 

b. Thirty bushels of wheat to the acre, at 60 lbs. 
per bushel, would only give 1800 lbs. The dry mat- 
ter of the turnip is nearly as nutritious as wheaten 
flour, and we see from the above that there would be 
nearly three times as much of it. If we take some 
of the other roots, which produce quite as large a 
weight per acre and contain less water, the comparison 
will be still more favorable to root crops. 



I 



^ALUE OF ROOT CROPS. 135 

c. Indian com competes better with them. Land 
that would yield 25 tons of tm'nips or 30 bushels of 
wheat to the acre, would produce 60 bushels of corn; 
and this, at 60 lbs. per bushel, would give 3600 lbs. 
per acre, of food, superior to either of the others 
weight for weight. 

It is plain, from the above facts, that the root crops 
are of great value. The animal, it is true, has to eat 
very large quantities, to produce much increase in its 
size; but then the yield per acre is so exceedingly 
great, as to more than counterbalance this seeming 
disadvantage, in the comparison with more concen- 
trated forms of food. The cultivation of these crops, 
to a considerable extent, will doubtless be found ad- 
vantageous in districts where the climate and soil are 
well suited to them. 

The cabbage has about 90 per cent of water, and 
much ash. The proportion of nitrogenous compounds 
is large, about 3 to 6 per cent; so that this vegetable 
might also be cultivated here, as it is abroad, for feed- 
ing purposes. 

I mention all of these crops, that the farmer may 
know something of their valuable properties, and may 
not consider himself tied down to a regular succession 
of two or three only, such as he has always been ac- 
customed to cultivate, or to see others cultivate. He 
ought to know that there are others which are equally 
important, the occasional introduction of which may 
be beneficial not only to himself, but also to his land. 



SECTION rV. OF THE GRASSES. THE COMPOSITION OF THE 
VARIOUS CROPS COMPARED. 

There is yet one class of crops used for feeding, 
that has not been adverted to: this includes the orrasses. 
These contain, when made into hay, about 10 or 12 
per cent of water; in the green state, before drying. 



136 THE GRASSES. 

about SO per cent. The dry part consists chiefly of 
woody fibre: beside this, there are small and varia- 
ble quantities of nitrogenous bodies — gum, sugar, oil, 
etc. In some grasses, these amount to as much as 
three, four, and five per cent. 

The time of cutting has much to do with the nutri- 
tive value of hay. While the stems and leaves are 
growing and green, they contain considerable quanti- 
ties of sugar and gum, which, as they ripen, are, for 
a large part, transformed into dry, indigestible, woody 
fibre: the remainder goes into the seeds; but, as every 
farmer knows, a great portion of these are lost from 
the hay, before it is fed out. Thus, after the grass 
has attained its full size and height, it loses by delay 
in cutting, and becomes, as to its stem and leaves, of 
poorer quality as it grows riper. 

The same occurs in the straw of grains, and in corn- 
stalks. If they are cut from ten days to a fortnight 
before the grain ripens, their quality for feeding is 
greatly superior to what it would have been when 
they were ripe. This, with the benefit to the quantity 
and quality of grain before mentioned, constitutes a 
double advantage to be gained by cutting early. 

We have thus briefly adverted to the general com- 
position of the leading crops, and have shown the 
principal points of ditference. We have seen that 
root crops produce the largest amount of nutritive 
matter per acre; and that next to them comes Indian 
corn, then the other grains, and the oil-bearing seeds. 
The next subject is the final disposal of these crops 
in feeding. 

It may be of advantage here, to append a table to 
this chapter, giving a comparative view" of the more 
common crops, as to their organic part: such a view^ 
of the inorganic part has been already given, in 
preceding tables. These analyses are not to be 
considered as representing exactly the invariable 



COMPOSITION OF SEEDS. 137 

composition of these crops, bui simply thei)' general 
character. The greater portion of them are made up 
from Prof. Johnston's Lectures; a few are from other 
sources. They represent the composition of the whole 
seeds in the grains, not of the ground flour, from 
which most of the woody fibre or bran has been sepa- 
rated, and in which consequently the percentage of 
starch is much larger. 

The composition of oats as given here, is of course 
that of the grain deprived of its husk. 

This table shows, at a glance, the distinction be- 
tween the four classes of crops which it represents, as 
to their organic part. The range of difference in the 
composition of the four grains as shown, is quite 
trifling, when we consider their different properties as 
they are employed for food. 

With regard to meadow hay, I do not profess my- 
self satisfied, but give the above as a summary of the 
best results hitherto obtained. They are from John- 
ston and Boussingault, and indicate an amount of nu- 
tritive matter which seems to me to need confirmation. 
I have reduced their proportions somewhat, and still 
the analysis, as it stands, looks quite high in some 
points. 

Of some most important crops in certain portions 
of this country, we have as yet no organic analysis, 
that are sufficiently precise and reliable for insertion 
here; such are tobacco, cotton, and the sugarcane. 
An examination of the organic bodies in those crops, 
carried out properly, would be of very great benefit 
to the whole country. 



10* 



138 



ORGANIC SUBSTANCES IN COMMON CROPS. 



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139 



CHAPTER Xn. 
APPLICATION OF THE CROPS IN FEEDING. 

Connection between the composition of vegetables and that of 
animals: in their organic part •, in their nitrogenous substances. 
Differences between animal and vegetable food. Starch; its 
uses in respiration. Other substances which serve the same 
purpose. Sugar. Fat. Applications of this knowledge in 
feeding the young animal, and the full grown animal. More 
food required in cold climates. Food required by the fattening 
animal. Benefit of cutting food; of cornstalks, hay, etc. 

SECTION I. OF THE CONNECTION IN COMPOSITION BETWEEN 
THE PLANT AND THE ANIMAL. 

We have hitherto said little as to the direct con- 
nection between the composition of the food, and that 
of the animal itself. That there is such a connection, 
must by this time have become clear to every attentive 
reader. It is, however, even more direct; and the 
conclusions to be draw^n from this directness are more 
practical than could have been supposed before any 
chemical investigations were made. Something has 
been mentioned in a preceding chapter, as to the simi- 
larity between the inorganic substances in the plant 
and those in the animal : it w^as explained that they 
only differ in the fact, that the ash from animal sub- 
stances contains at most but a mere trace of silica, 
a substance which will be remembered as forming 
so important a part of the ash from plants. 

In the organic part of animals, we find in many 
points a not less striking coincidence with the organic 
part of plants. It is to be recollected, that in speak- 
ing of the nutritive properties of plants, much im- 



140 NITROGENOUS SUBSTANCES. 

portance was ascribed to the bodies containing nitro- 
gen, such as gluten, albumen, legumin, etc. 

a. These, and a number of others having a similar 
character, have been classed together by some che- 
mists under the name of 'protein bodies. They are, 
in many cases, widely different in form and proper- 
ties, but all have about the same proportion of nitro- 
gen, and the same general composition. 

h. As we come to examine the flesh, the blood, the 
hair, and the organic part or gelatine of the bones, 
we find that from all of them can be extracted various 
substances that contain nitrogen. When these sub- 
stances are subjected to chemical analysis, they are 
proved to belong to the same class, and to have a 
composition agreeing, with that of the nitrogenous or 
nitrogen-containing bodies of the plant. 

This is a very striking fact, when we come to con- 
sider its various bearings. The gluten of wheat, the 
legumin of peas and beans, all the nitrogenous bodies 
of the other grains and roots, are actually the same 
thing as the nitrogenous bodies contained in the mus- 
cle, the blood, the hair, the skin and the bones of the 
animal. The plant, then, is a species of manufactory, 
Avhere food is prepared in such a form, that the ani- 
mal can build up its own body with the least possible 
trouble. These nitrogenous substances are carried 
by the blood to each extremity of the frame, and are 
deposited to fill up, supply, or enlarge every part, as 
may be needed. The fact has long been established, 
that our muscles, our hair, our skin, and even our 
bones, are constantly undergoing a change. Some of 
their particles are each day carried away, and rejected 
from the body in various forms, their place being sup- 
plied from the constituents of the food eaten. In this 
way, particle by particle, the whole body is in time 
renewed. 

When eating meat, we only eat a more concen- 



OF RESPIRATION 141 

trated form of protein or nitrogenous substance : all 
that there is containing nitrogen in bread, is the same 
body as that which we find in meat, the only differ- 
ence being, that in bread, there is much less of it in 
proportion to the whole bulk. It may therefore be 
said with truth, that, in eating bread, we are in one 
sense eating the same thing as beef or mutton. 

a. If the proportion of nitrogenous substance is 
very small, as in the turnip or potato, the quantity 
eaten must be greatly increased. In order to make as 
much muscle in the body as would be added- to it by 
five or six ounces of meat, in its ordinary cooked 
form, it would be necessary to eat at least one hundred 
ounces of turnips or potatoes in their raw state. 
When cooked, the proportion of water in them would 
probably be decreased somewhat, and with the season- 
ing employed to make them palatable, a less quantity 
might answer. 

SECTION II. OF RESPIRATION : STARCH, SUGAR, GUM, AND 

FAT. 

The use of starch in nutrition, has already been 
briefly alluded to. We have seen that it is one of the 
most abundant of all the ingredients, in most varieties 
of vegetable food; and the question naturally arises, 
what is the necessity, in the animal economy, for this 
large quantity of such a substance. 

a. Starch, as was explained in one of the first 
chapters, consists of carbon and water, or carbon 
united with hydrogen and oxygen in the proportions 
to form water. This is brought into the lungs by the 
blood, after digestion, and there, or afterward in the 
blood, undergoes what may be considered a species 
of combustion. 

h. The carbon of the starch unites with oxygen, 
and forms carbonic acid. This accounts for the in- 



142 RESPIRATION A KIND OF COMBUSTION, 

creased quantity which, as will be remembered, is 
found in the air after it has passed through the lungs. 
The lungs are full of little cavities, so that the blood 
may come in contact with as much of the air as pos- 
sible at once, and absorb large quantities of oxygen. 

c. Another result of this decomposition or burning, 
is water; so that we have here carbonic acid and wa- 
ter for the fmal product, as in the ordinary burning of 
wood or coal. We do not understand how it happens, 
but the same effect seems to be produced in the lungs 
as when carbon is actually burned by a flame; its 
uniting w^ith oxygen and forming carbonic acid, heats 
the body as an internal flame would do. 

Every person knows how difficult it is for a hungry 
man to keep warm in cold weather, and how soon a 
full meal restores the animal heat. The quicker w^e 
breathe, the more food or starch is burned; thus strong 
exertions always heat us, because they compel us to 
breathe faster. The larger portion of the starch, then, 
which is received with our food, passes off in the 
shape of carbonic acid and water. 

In warm weather our appetites are less than in 
cold, because the outward temperature is such as re- 
quires less action of the lungs to retain the warmth 
of the body, and consequently involves a smaller con- 
sumption of food. Nothing reduces the flesh and 
strength so rapidly as cold and hunger combined, for 
then all the resources of the body are most speedily 
exhausted. Deprivation of food, while the tempera- 
ture of the air corresponds nearly with that of the 
body, may be borne with, comparative impunity, and 
with little emaciation, for a period that would in the 
first case have been fatal. 

There are other substances in our ordinary food, 
which may serve the same purpose as starch, in keep- 
ing up the heat of the body. 

a. One of these is sugar, as indeed might be ex- 



SUPPORTED BY STARCH, SUGAR, ETC. 143 

pected from the identity of its composition with that 
of starch j it also consisting of carbon, with hydroo'en 
and oxygen in the proportions to form water. Sugar, 
when not taken in too large quantities, must be con- 
sidered a wholesome food, particularly as supplying 
material for keeping up the heat of the body. Some 
authors have condemned it, because animals would 
not thrive on it alone; but this is no argument at all. 
The same result would follow feeding upon any other 
single article, to the exclusion of all others. The 
animal requires and must have a mixed food, or it 
will not thrive. 

h. Fatty and oily substances have the same function 
to perform; they also consist of carbon, hydrogen, 
and oxygen, and, in animals that do not eat ve- 
getables, are undoubtedly the chief source by which 
carbon is supplied to the lungs. When food fails, fat 
from various parts of the body is first used to support 
respiration : hence results the remarkable emaciation 
which appears after long abstinence, or during star- 
vation. 

Fat is extremely useful in the body for various pur- 
poses. It lubricates and smooths the joints, the mus- 
cles, and the tendons, so that they play easily and freely; 
it fills up hollov^'s, making the body plump and rounded, 
instead of angular and full of disagreeable cavities, 
as it would othei^wise be. This necessary part of the 
animal, is chiefly derived from the oily and fatty sub- 
stances in the food. It seems clear that, under certain 
circumstances, both starch and sugar may and do pro- 
duce fat. This is partially the case when the food con- 
sists entirely of potatoes, or when it is nothing but 
apples. Still we see that those varieties of food which 
contain most oil, fatten animals quickest. 

a. Indian corn is an instance of this : linseed cakf 
is a still more striking one. Such food not only sup- 
plies the usual daily waste of the body, but causes 
an accumulation and increase of fat. The naturrd 



144 PHOSPHATE OF LIME INDISPENSABLE. 

supply of ready made oil or fat thus furnished, suits 
the animal better than the conversion of starch or su- 
gar into fat, as being much easier, more natural, and 
more readily accomplished. 

b. The organic food must then, in order to meet all 
the wants of the animal, contain starch, sugar or 
gum, fatty matter or oil, and nitrogenous compounds. 
These are all organic bodies. The first three are 
needed to furnish carbon, to be consumed in respira- 
tion for the purpose of keeping up the animal heat, 
and also for making fat in case of necessity. The oil 
is of value for forming fat directly, and the nitroge- 
nous substance for the production of muscle, carti- 
lage, etc. 

c. Among the inorganic parts of the food, phos~ 
phate of lime should be prominent, in order that the 
animal may form its bones strong, and of full size. 
Potash and soda should also be present in considera- 
ble quantity. I mention phosphate of lime particu- 
larly, because no other phosphate will answer the pur- 
pose of making bone. Experiments have been tried 
by feeding birds with food containing little or none 
of this, but an abundance of other phosphates. They 
gradually became thin and died, and it was found that 
their bones were all wasted away and weak, for want 
of the necessary material to build them up. 

SECTION III. OF FEEDING THE YOUNG AND GROWING 

ANIMAL. 

We see from the facts already stated, that with the 
knowledge now gained upon this subject, feeding may 
become a science : we may modify our food according 
to the end that we desire to attain. 

Let us consider first the young and growing animal. 
What. is the system too often pursued ? The best hay, 
the best shelter, the best litter, all of the grain and 
roots, are bestowed upon the working or the fattening 



FEEDING OF YOUNG ANIMALS. 145 

animals. The young ones have poor shelter^ coarse 
bog hay and straw lor fodder, and little care of any 
description. In the main, they are left to shift for 
themselves, with poor food and imperfect accom.mo- 
dations, frequently with no accommodations at all, 
unless the warm side of an old stack of bog hay, or 
bleached cornstalks, can be so called. As they crowd 
together under its shelter from the wind, and eat some 
of the hay or stalks to keep from starving, the owner 
congratulates himself on the saving of food that he 
is effecting. I would ask him to consider whether 
this is really the best possible practice, and think it 
will not be difficult to show that every hour of this 
fancied gain, is in reality a positive loss. It can 
be made evident from the following facts. The young 
animal is, or should be, growing rapidly; its muscles 
should be developing and increasing in size; its bones 
growing and consolidating; its whole frame enlarging 
from day to day, in a rapid and almost perceptible 
manner. This is not to be effected by such treatment 
as that described above. The real need at this time 
is for remarkably strengthening and nutritious food — 
a food that should contain a large proportion of nitro- 
gen in some form, so as to increase the muscles; and 
of phosphates, to strengthen and enlarge the bones. 

The daily waste of the body, is proportionally much 
larger in the young animal than in the old; for, w^ith 
a more active circulation, all parts of the body change 
their constituent particles more rapidly. Quite 
young animals, it is said, often renew their whole 
bodies in the course of a single year. Beside this 
larger waste, there is the daily increase in bulk of 
every part to be attended to ; the food, therefore, 
should be nutritious enough for both purposes. 

a. In England, young calves often have a small 
portion of linseed meal fed to them with milk, this 
meal being rich both in nitrogen and in phosphates. 
Fat is not of so much consequence, unless in feeding 



146 FEEDING GROWN ANIMALS. 

calves for market. It has been suggested that bone 
meal, ground fine, might be found good for young 
animals, as a portion of their allowance; but I am 
not aware if it has ever been tried with success. It 
is said that the Arabs make use of it for food in time 
of scarcity. Bean meal or peas meal, in small quanti- 
ties, makes an excellent mixture with milk. 

The natural milk of the mother combines all of the 
properties which I have mentioned, as will be seen 
in an ensuing chapter; but it is not always practica- 
ble or profitable to feed wdth milk entirely. 

From the composition of the grains previously 
given, it is obvious that all of them are valuable food 
for young stock. Indian corn being cheapest, and on 
the whole best adapted for the purpose, is most used 
in this country. 

Such directions as these, contrast somewhat strongly 
Avith the state of things described first; where the ani- 
mal, shivering in the winter's cold, w^as compelled to 
exist on food entirely unsuited to its w^ants, and 
scarcely sufficient to supply material for keeping up 
the heat of its body. Let any reasonable man decide 
which system will produce the best results. 

SECTION IV. OF FEEDING THE FULL-GROWN ANIMAL. 

The full-growni animal has its bones, its muscles, 
and all of its parts fully developed and matured. 
That which it needs in its food, is the material to 
make good the daily ^vaste of its body. This waste 
is not inconsiderable, especially when the animal un- 
dergoes much labor and severe exertion. 

a. A man consumes in respiration alone, from six 
to eight ounces of carbon in each twenty-four hours. 
In order to supply this, he must eat about one pound 
of starch, sugar, gum, fat, or other food rich in carbon. 
Then there are the phosphates, the nitrogenous sub- 



ADAPTATION OF FOOD TO CLIMATE. 147 

stances, the saline bodies, the fat, etc., which will 
require a number of ounces more. 

1). In very cold climates, the amount of necessary 
food, especially of that which furnishes carbon to 
keep up the heat of the body, is vastly augmented. 
The Esquimaux, and other savage tribes living in the 
arctic regions, eat quantities of fat, tallow, and oil, 
which would be considered quite incredible, were it 
not for the concurring testimony of numerous travel- 
lers. Several pounds of such food at a time, a dozen 
or two of tallow candles for instance, or half a galloi 
of whale blubber, seems to scarcely satisfy their ap^ 
petites; and this enormous eating appears not to pro- 
duce the slightest ill effect, as it cioes no more in 
that climate than keep up the requisite animal heat, 
in addition to supplying the waste of the body. 

In warm weather, the quantity of food needed to 
supply strength for the same amount of exertion, is, as 
all know, greatly reduced ; the appetite often disap- 
pears almost entirely, and yet there is no feeling of 
weakness in undergoing labor. The temperature of 
the air is so elevated, that comparatively a very small 
portion of the food is used in keeping up the animal 
heat. In the next chapter we will consider the par- 
ticular bearing: of these facts on feedinj2f. 

SECTION V. OF THE FATTENING ANIMAL AND ITS FOOD. 

Hitherto we have spoken only of the young or 
growing, and of the full grown animal ; it now 
remains to say something of the fattening animal. 
Here the object of feeding is changed : it is not in- 
tended to increase the size and weight of its bones and 
frame, for these have attained their full development; 
their daily waste is to be fully replaced, and in addi- 
tion there is to be the greatest possible amount of 
flesh and fat accumulated upon them in the shoitest 
possible time, and this with the least necessary cost. 



148 FOOD FOR FATTEI^ING ANIMALS. 

Here is clearly a new class of food needed, con- 
taining not only phosphates, saline substances, starch, 
etc., as before, but also an increased proportion of 
protein bodies, and above all an abundance of oily or 
fatty matters. The vegetable fats or oils, as has been 
suid, do not greatly differ in their composition from the 
animal fats, some of them, in fact, being almost iden- 
tical : of course, then, the transformations necessary 
to convert them into the various parts of the body are 
easily accomplished. 

It has been argued by some scientific men, that 
these vegetable oils are really of not so much import- 
ance as is here ascribed to them : they say that the 
chief part of the fat in our domestic animals, is derived 
from the starch and sugar contained in their food. 
The fact already mentioned, that both of these sub- 
stances may be converted into fal, and doubtless are 
so converted to a large extent, might seem to coun- 
tenance such views, had we not direct practical evi- 
dence that the vegetable food which is most oily in 
its nature, is found to be most valuable in fattening. 
It is only necessary to instance indian meal, oil cake, 
linseed jelly, etc., as compared, weight ior weight, in 
feeding, with rye, oats, barley, potatoes, or turnips. 
All experience shows that the first named varieties of 
food are by far the best. 

Starch, sugar, and gum, especially the two latter, 
unquestionably aid materially in fattening, and will 
fatten where there is little else given, but at the same 
time not so speedily or economically as more oily food 
would have done. A small portion of this latter food, 
mixed Avith larger quantities of the more watery or 
less concentrated nutriment, is found an extremely 
good way of feeding. Thus, in England, for an ox, 
as many turnips as the animal will eat, are given, with 
four or five pounds of oil cake per day. They also use 
linseed jelly, made by boiling the linseed in water, and 



A CUTTING MACHINE SAVES HAY. 149 

then mixing with cut straw and hay : when it cools, 
a stiff, firm jelly is formed, which may be turned out 
in masses. This mixture might well be tried in this 
country. 

a. It is now becoming the practice here to use in- ] 
dian meal for mixing with moistened cut stuff, and | 
there Is great advantage in so doing; an advantage ! 
in the readiness and relish with which the animal j 
takes its food, and also of course in the effect upon its ' 
growth. 

A cutting machine saves much hay, enables the 
farmer to consume a large portion of straw by mixing 
with hay, and at the same time to promote the fatten- 
ing of his stock, by the greater ease with which they 
eat and digest food already partially prepared for 
their stomachs. I shall soon mention why it is that 
every thing which saves labor to the fattening animal, 
promotes the increase of its bulk. Hay for such / 
purposes should be mown before quite matured, as, 
for the reasons explained in a previous chapter, it 
contains so much more gum, sugar, etc., than when 
allowed to stand till fully ripe. The same practice 
is good with straw. We have already seen that the 
grain is heavier and better in quality for early cut- , 
ting; and experience shows that the straw is not less 
superior for feeding purposes. Some kinds, cut early 
and carefully cured, are nearly equal to certain varie- 
ties of hay, and even superior to most of that which 
has been suffered to ripen and bleach till it is little 
better than a mass of dry sticks. 

Indian cornstalks, when cut as above, and well j 
cured, make a most admirable fodder. They are then ( 
sweet and nutritious in an eminent degree ; when cut ' 
fine, and mixed w^ith indian meal, are eaten by cattle 
with much avidity, and eaten clean, butts and all. j 
Some farmers think that really good stalks are worth 
about as much as the best hay. When we consider 

13* 



150 EA.RLY CUTTING OF CORN FODDER. 

the weight of them to be obtained from an acre of 
heavy corn, they are probably more than equal, taking 
into account the respective quantities per acre. 

In many parts of this country, cornstalks are ne- 
glected, or, if carted at all, are only thrown into the 
barnyard whole. Their butts and stalks come out un- 
decayed in the spring, making the manure difficult to 
handle or spread, and worse still to plough under. We 
see hundreds of fields every autumn, where the stalks 
stand bleached and white till just before snow comes, 
when perhaps they are carted into the yard as just de- 
scribed, or stacked for the benefit of such unfortunate 
young stock as may be starved into the idea that they 
are a tolerable article of food. 

When made into small stacks in the field, with the 
butts well out so as to let air in, and the tops tied to- 
gether, they dry green, and sweet, and tender, so that 
all stock relish them highly. Some farmers leave the 
stalks of one hill uncut, and gather those of eight to 
sixteen others around it. The centre hill gives stabi- 
lity to the stack, and prevents it from blowing over. 



151 



CHAPTER Xiri. 

FEEDING (CONTINUED). 

Soilifig cattle, or feeding with green food. Shelter in winter ne- 
cessary: its influence on the economy of food. Effects of ex- 
ercise, of close confinement, of warmth. Of cut and cooked 
food; reasons for their efficacy. Linseed jelly. Soured food; 
probable change which takes place in souring. Differences in 
manures from different classes of animals : from the young 
animal; from the milch cow ; from full grown, and from fat- 
tening animals. Effect of feeding various classes in deterio- 
rating pastures. 

SECTION I. ON THE SOILING OF STOCK. 

The practice of feeding various crops to cattle, 
while they are green; or of soiling, as it is otherwise 
termed, has excited some attention of late years, and 
it is therefore proper to devote a few words to it here. 
The advocates of such a course contend : 1. That the 
food from an acre goes farther; 2. That the animals 
thrive better; 3. That their manure is more perfectly 
preserved. 

a. This latter position is unquestionably a true one; 
the manure being under cover, is not exposed to eva- 
poration or washing, and is without doubt not only 
more valuable, but is retained in greater bulk. 

h. It is probably true, also, that the green food from 
an acre goes much farther than the same amount would 
do when dried. I suppose that it is impossible to 
make hay or fodder from any green crops, without to 
a considerable degree changing their composition, 
thus rendering them, to a certain extent, hard and in- 
digestible; some parts, which before were soluble, 
becoming in drying nearly insoluble. 



152 SOILING OF STOCK. 

c. As to the animals thriving better, that is a point 
which I consider as not yet fully decided. It is a 
question if, in our extremely hot climate, animals do 
so well during the warm weather of summer, when con- 
fined in close sheds, pining for liberty and green fields. 
I think that we require extended experience, and many 
comparative experiments, before this question can be 
regarded as finally settled. 

A modification of the system w^ould without doubt 
be successful in certain situations, such as where the 
ordinary pasture would admit of being partly culti- 
vated, or had some arable field close at hand, in wdiich 
might be grown indian corn sown thick, heavy crops 
of clover, or some other form of green fodder. A 
portion of this, cut twice a day, and fed out upon the 
pasture, w^ould have an excellent effect, both on the 
condition of the animals, and in the improvement of 
the pasture. Green food given in this way, keeps 
working cattle in good order, and dairy cows in rich 
milk, through the hot months. All of the crop is 
available, no part of it being lost by the trampling 
of stock. One man with a scythe can cut enough in 
a few minutes, morning and evening, to supply a very 
considerable herd. 



SECTION II. ON THE KEEPING OF STOCK DURING WINTER. 

The place in wdiich stock is kept during winter has 
a much more important effect, not only upon their 
condition, but upon the quantity of food that they eat, 
than is usually imagined. Suppose it to be in an un- 
sheltered yard, or on a hill-side, open to cold winds 
and driving storms; from what has been already said, 
we know that in such a situation, the action of the 
lungs will be increased as the temperature of the body 
decreases. This will call for an augmented supply 
of carbon from the food, using up the starch, sugar, 



FEEDING ANIMALS IN THE DARK. 153 

oil, etc., which would otherwise have gone to cover 
the frame with fat. Thus a large portion of the food 
is consumed or burned in the lungs and blood, to keep 
the body w^arm. As the animal grows poorer under 
this condition of things, it becomes less and less able 
to resist the cold, so that at last about all of its nutri- 
ment is used up, in the action necessary to keep it 
from freezing. 

The animal that has a sheltered yard with plenty 
of litter, with sheds facing to the south, for the day, and 
good stables or other shelter for the night, is con- 
stantly warm and comfortable; for these reasons re- 
spiration does not need to be so rapid, and the larger 
part of its food goes to the support and increase of its 
body. Under such circumstances, we might expect a 
smaller quantity of nourishment to produce a greater 
increase of weight, and this is found to be actually the 
case. 

The amount of exercise taken, has also much influ- 
ence. When animals are fattening, the less exercise 
of a violent nature that they take, the better; for every 
exertion increases the depth and frequency of breath- 
ing, and so of course makes a draft upon the food. 
The more tranquil and quiet the state then, in which 
the animal is kept, the more readily will fat accumu- 
late. 

a. This is shown by the well known fact, that tur- 
kies, pigeons, and other fowls, when shut up in the 
dark, will fatten with very great rapidity. In such a 
situation they are kept perfectly still; there being no 
object to distract their attention, and make them rest- 
less, they have nothing to attend to but eating, sleep- 
ing, and digesting. 

Some experiments have also been made, on the ad- 
vantage of fattening animals by feeding in confine- 
ment, as contrasted with others at liberty. In Prof. 
Johnston's Lectures, are given the results of an experi- 



154 DOMESTIC ANIMALS 

merit made upon sheep, by selecting those of nearly 
equal weight, and feeding for four months under dif- 
ferent circumstances. One was entirely unsheltered, 
another in an open shed, another still in a close shed 
and in the dark. The food was alike, 1 lb. of oats 
each per day, and as many turnips as they chose to 
eat. 

a. The first sheep consumed 1912 lbs. of turnips, 
the second 1394 lbs., and the third 886 lbs., or less 
than half oi those eaten by the first. 

h. The first one gained 23J lbs. in w^eight, the se- 
cond 27J lbs., and the third 28i lbs. 

c. For every 100 lbs. of turnips eaten, the first 
gained in weight 1| lb., the second 2 lbs., the third 
3tV lbs. This is a most striking example of the effect 
of warmth and shelter; the one kept in a close shed 
and in the dark, eat less than half as much, and gained 
more than the unsheltered one. 

Another remarkable instance is given by Prof John- 
ston. Twenty sheep were kept in the open field, and 
twenty others of nearly equal weight, kept under a 
comfortable shed. They were fed alike for the three 
winter months, having each per day J lb. linseed 
cake, ^ pint barley, wnth a little hay and salt, and as 
many turnips as they wished to eat. " The sheep in 
the field consumed all the barley and oil cake, and 
about 19 lbs. of turnips each per day, so long as the 
trial lasted, and increased in the whole 512 lbs. Those 
under the shed consumed at first as much food as the 
others, but after the third week they eat 2 lbs. each of 
turnips less per day; and in the ninth week 2 lbs. 
less again, or only 15 lbs. per day. Of the linseed 
cake they also eat about \ less than the other lot, and 
yet increased in weight 790 lbs., or 278 lbs. more 
than the others." 

This too was w^ith nearly 200 lbs. less of oil cake, 
and about 2 tons less of turnips, according to the above 



SHOULD BE SHELTERED L\ WINTER. 155 

statement. Are not such facts as these worthy of at- 
tention? Here it is shown by practical experience that 
theory is correct; that when animals are unsheltered 
and cold, they eat more and gain less, because so large 
a portion of their food is used up in keeping them 
warm. 

Tn the course of a very few years, such differences 
as these, to a farmer who kept much stock, would save 
the entire price of good, substantial sheds. The com- 
fort and warmth of animals, should be a primary con- 
sideration in the construction of sheds and stables of 
every description. It is quite easy, by a little study, 
to unite these important requisites with convenience, 
and with economy of time in feeding. When build- 
ings are well regulated in these respects, a man can 
do much more work, and do it better, than where he 
has to accomplish every thing at a disadvantage, as 
is the case in too many establishments. From the re- 
sults hitherto obtained by feeding in the dark, and in 
close buildings, it would be well to try this system on 
a large scale. Many persons partially adopt it by 
using folding shutters, which render the light of day 
quite dim and indistinct. Where many animals are 
in the same building, care should be taken to ensure 
good ventilation. 



SECTION ni OF THE FORM IN WHICH FOOD IS TO BE 

GIVEN. 

The state in which food is given, has an important 
bearing on the eifect which it produces, in sustaining 
or fattening the animal. I have already spoken of 
cutting hay, straw, and stalks, and have explained the 
advantages which result from the practice. On small 
farms, all that is necessary may be cut by hand in an 
hour at night and morning; and where the stock is 
large, there is always, or ought to be, a horse power; 



156 PREPARATION OF THE FOOD OF STOCK. 

by connecting this with a cutter, the work may be 
done with equal ease. 

For milch cows, this cut stuff is as advantageous 
as for fattening animals. If wet a little previous to 
feeding, and Indian meal or other ground feed sifted 
over in small quantity, the cows w411 eat it with great 
relish, and the effect of the meal will be quite appa- 
rent in the richness of their milk. Some such food is 
in fact necessary to supply the nitrogenous substances, 
the butter, and the phosphates which milk contains 
so largely. 

a. A half bushel of sugar beets, parsnips, or car- 
rots, to each cow daily, w^ill be found an excellent ad- 
dition to their food; it gives sweetness and richness 
to the milk, making the butter of a yellow color even 
in w^inter. If these roots are cut by a root-slicer, they 
will be eaten cleaner and more easily digested, as the 
animal can then w^ithout difficulty grind up each 
piece separately. 

It is with milch cows as with fattening animals; 
quiet and warmth affect the quantity and quality of 
milk, as much as they do the accumulation of fat All 
that the cow uses in breathing after exertion, or to 
keep herself warm, is so much withdraw^n from the 
milk. Here then, also, good shelter and comfortable 
feeding places are the best economy. In fact, this 
rule applies to every class of stock. From what was 
said in the last chapter, with regard to young and 
growing animals when exposed to cold, it is clear 
that they as w^ell as others need shelter and warmth, 
that their food may be of the greatest benefit in in- 
creasing their growth. 

Cooked food, in various forms, is found to be of 
great value in feeding. The same quantity will, in 
many cases, go farther cooked than raw. This is es- 
pecially true of many roots, as potatoes, carrots, etc.; 
also, of every kind of meal, of pumpkins, squashe:3, 



RAW AND COOKED FOOD COMPARED. 157 

apples, etc. When cooked, the animal eats its food 
more readily, and a smaller quantity goes farther. 
This does not apply to all kinds of animals. Accord- 
ing to some experiments, horses, for instance, throve 
little, if any, better on cooked food than on raw. In 
some of the trials, the raw food seemed to have the 
advantage. This is not, however, to be regarded as a 
general rule. 

It has been said that starch may be changed into 
sugar and gum in various ways : the application of 
heat is one of these ways; and in cooking food, this 
change by means of heat doubtless takes place to a 
very considerable extent. The starch is not soluble 
in water, while the sugar, dextrine, and gum, thus 
formed during cooking, are eminently so : the cooked 
food is therefore more easily dissolved and digested 
in the stomach of the animal, and is moreover eaten 
without any exertion. This ease and quickness of 
digestion, seems to have the same effect upon many 
classes of animals in hastening their growth, that has 
been exemplified in preceding chapters, with regard 
to some powerful and quite soluble manures applied 
to plants. It was shown that easy solubility, and 
therefore quickness of action, were more important 
than quantity; for instance, that two or three bushels 
of bones, dissolved in sulphuric acid, would benefit a 
crop more than sixty or seventy bushels of whole 
bones. So with the animal; a small portion of food, 
which it can at once eat, digest, and m.ake into its 
own bones, muscle, and fat, is worth more than a large 
quantity of some kind which it can only eat with dif- 
ficulty, and digest slowly. Turnips and parsnips are 
usually fed raw; but potatoes, pumpkins, apples, and 
meal, are varieties of food which are almost always 
better to be cooked, where it is practicable. 

Every farmer should endeavor to have a cellar fitted 
for the purpose of keepin^z ro^ts, wliere they would 



158 FEEDING WITH LINSEED JELLY. 

neither freeze, nor be so warm as to sprout. It is 
better to have the temperature a little too cold, than 
a little too warm. In the latter case decay will 
speedily commence, and toward spring, when the roots 
begin to sprout, their value will rapidly decrease; all 
their more valuable and soluble parts being abstracted 
by the shoot, leaving little more behind than woody 
fibre and water. 

In England, a system of feeding with a species of 
linseed jelly, has been very highly spoken of during 
the last few years. Linseed is thoroughly boiled 
in water, 1 lb. to 2 gallons; and when the water 
is sufficiently concentrated, the whole is poured into 
little boxes; then as much fine-cut straw as conve- 
nient is added, and the whole thoroughly stirred toge- 
ther. As the mixture cools, the linseed forms the 
contents of each box into a mass of stiff jelly, capa- 
ble of being turned out and of retaining its shape : it 
is fed to cattle in that state. This is an extremely 
nutritious, and also a very fattening food. Sometimes 
a little bean or peas meal is also stirred in; either of 
these make the compound richer in nitrogen, and 
therefore better adapted to the formation of muscle. 
The results of this system of feeding have been en- 
tirely satisfactory, so far as we have any reports of 
its success. 

Cooked food, allowed to sour, has been found in 
many cases remarkably fattening, particularly as fed 
to swine. The souring should, of course, not be al- 
lowed to go on to the extent of strong fermentation. 
It is probable that the efficacy of this soured food, is 
due to a still farther action upon the starch, than the 
one noticed in a preceding paragraph. Not only has 
heat the power of converting it into sugar, gum, etc., 
but certain acids also. 

a. By mixing a certain portion of dilute sulphuric 
acid with starch in weighed quantity, and exposing 



USE OF SOUR FOOD 159 

it for some hours to a graduated temperature, we are 
able to produce sugar; the starch has been changed 
by the acid. This is done on a large scale in France. 

b. In the souring of food certain vegetable acids 
are formed, which possess the same power as sulphuric 
acid : it is even probable that some portions of the 
otherwise indigestible woody fibre are also changed 
into a sweet gummy substance, for this is another 
transformation that we are able to effect by artificial 
means. The result of souring, then, is to bring the 
cooked food, already partially altered, into a still more 
soluble and digestible state. Probably no animal but 
the hog would be fond of such food; but for him, it is 
easy to see that it would prove valuable. 

If the souring is allowed to go too far, still another 
change takes place, by means of which all of the sugar 
is converted, through fermentation, first into alcohol, 
and finally into vinegar; in neither of these states 
would the food be nutritious, even if animals could be 
induced to eat it. 



SECTION rV. ON THE DIFFERENCES IN CERTAIN CLASSES OF 

MANURE. 

We are by this time fully able to understand the 
difference in the manures derived from different classes 
of animals, the young, the full grown, the fattening, 
etc. ; I will, therefore, now touch once more upon that 
subject. 

We have seen that the young animal is not only 
constantly increasing in its bulk, but that it is renew- 
ing every part much more rapidly than those of ma- 
ture age. Food is for both of these reasons required, 
not only to supply the large daily waste, but also to 
build up the growing bones, muscles, and all other 
parts. Hence it results, that nearly every thing of 
value in the food will be appropriated, and the manure 



160 MANURE FROM GROWING AND WORKING ANIMALS. 

"will be chiefly composed of indigestible substances; 
little being rejected that can be made to aid in increas- 
ing the body or frame. 

a. In the milch cow, we have a still stronger in- 
stance. Here every thing available goes to the secre- 
tion of milk; even the body becomes thin and ema- 
ciated by this constant drain : the consequence is, that 
the manure is poor and watery, containing only the 
refuse of the food, with the small waste of the body. 
These two kinds of manure, from the milch cow, and 
from the rapidly growing animal, may be considered 
poorest of all. 

Manure from full grown working animals, is usually 
of excellent quality. If they work steadily, their food 
must be good in order to keep them in condition: of 
the carbon contained in it, so much as necessary, and 
this of course the largest part, owing to the amount of 
exercise that they take, is used in breathing ; and for 
this reason the manure is as it were concentrated, and 
is rich in nitrogen, in phosphates, and the saline sub- 
stances of the food generally. All that is above the 
daily supply to keep up the bod}^, and the bones, comes 
into the manure. 

In fattening an animal, the aim is simply to increase 
the bulk of its flesh and fat; the bones have attained 
their full size already. By far the greater part of the 
fatty matter in the rich food given, is in this case 
appropriated to the increase of the body, beside a 
large portion of the nitrogenous substances also; but 
a goodly quantity of both still goes into the manure, 
and it is rich in inorganic materials. 

These two last varieties of manure, from full grown, 
and from fattening animals, should be preserved with 
much care. It is proper for the farmer to remember, 
that in feeding his stock W'ell, he is not only increas- 
ing their weight, but is also benefiting his land for 
the future, by the rich and powerful manures whiclt 



PASTURES AFFECTED BY FEEDING. 161 

they produce when well fed. Some of the best En- 
glish farmers are accustomed to consider one load of 
manure from their fattening stock, equal to at least / 
two, and sometimes to three loads, from the sheds and i 
yards w^here their young stock is kept. This supe- | 
riority is not a matter of opinion only, but the result / 
of experience. 



SECTION Vo ON THE EFFECT OF FEEDING UPON PASTURES. 

There is one more point to be noticed, in connec- 
tion with the ditFerence in the portions of food re- 
tained by animals fed at various stages of growth, 
and for different purposes. This is relative to the 
different effect produced by them upon pastures. 

Where milch cows, or young stock generally, are 
fed constantly upon a pasture, or meadow, there is 
a rapid deterioration, particularly as to the inor- 
ganic materials of the soil. The milch cow carries 
away phosphates, and other valuable mineral ingre- 
dients, beside nitrogenous bodies, in her milk; the 
young animal does the same, in its augmented body 
and bones. Their manure, even if all left upon the 
soil, does not restore more than a small part of that 
which they take away; and the richest pasture will, 
after a time, begin to show signs of exhaustion. 

The case of a pasture upon which full grown ani- 
mals are fattened, is quite different. Here all of the 
phosphates, etc. which are not required for the body, 
are restored to the soil; and such a pasture may hold 
out, with little decrease of fertility, for a very long 
period. If the animals are at the same time, as is 
usual, fed with rich food from sources foreign to the 
farm, then the pasture may even improve under such 
a system of pasturing; the inorganic substances in 
the soil may actually be increased, rather than dimi- 
nished, if the food eaten abounds in them. In some 

]4# 



362 INJURIOUS PRACTICE OF DROVERS. 

parts of England, cattle are fed upon a rich field 
during the day, and driven to a poor one to pass the 
night, as a cheap method of manuring. 

This is a somewhat different plan from one which is 
adopted in many of our states, where it is the practice 
to let droves of cattle on their way to market, upon 
good pastures, for a single night, or for an hour or two 
at noon. They usually get little during the day, and 
of course fill themselves completely from the pasture, 
depositing little compared with that which they take 
away. If they w^ere fed at night with grain, or other 
rich food, then the practice might not be so injudicious. 
As generally conducted, however, it tends directly to 
the impoverishment of the pasture. Every such visit 
unregulated in any way, w^ithdraws a considerable 
portion of its material for producing flesh, fat, and 
bones, and of course deducts to a like extent from its 
actual value. If the farmer can supply the substances 
abstracted, for a less sum than the drovers pay him, 
he may then be justified in continuing the system, but 
not otherwise. 



163 



CHAPTER XIV. 

MILK, AND DAIRY PRODUCE GENERALLY. 

Properties of milk : quantities of water, curd, sugar, butter; the 
ash, its coiTiposition. Cream; ways of separation ; richness of 
milk; making of butter. Proper temperature for churning: 
with cream; with whole milk. Time proper to be occupied in 
churning. Kinds of fat in butter; precautions needed for its 
preservation. Casein. Cheese; various modes of making. 
Composition of cheese; of its ash. Temperature at which milk 
should be curdled. Imperfections of cheese. Reasons for the 
exhaustion of the pastures in dairy districts. Perfection of 
milk as food for the young animal. 

SECTION I. THE COMPOSITION OF MILK. 

This is an important branch of agriculture, and 
one upon which we have hitherto merely given some 
passing hints; we will now take it up somewhat in 
detail. 

The appearance and the usual qualities of milk, 
are too well known to require description here. It 
differs considerably in its composition as obtained 
from different animals, but its general nature is simi- , 
lar in all cases. From 80 to 90 lbs. in every 100 lbs. / 
of cow's milk, are water. This quantity may be in- 
creased by special feeding for this purpose. Some 
sellers of milk in the neighborhood of large cities, 
who are too conscientious to add pump-water to their 
milk, but who still desire to dilute it, contrive to ef- 
fect their purpose by feeding their cows on juicy suc- 
culent food, containing much water; such watered 



164 COMPOSITION OF MILK. 

milk they are able to sell with a safe conscience, 
tiiough it may be doubted if the true morality of the 
case is much better than if the pump had been called 
directly into action. 

From 3 to 5 lbs. in each 100 lbs. of milk, are curd, 
or casein; this is a nitrogenous body like gluten, al- 
bumen, animal muscle, and the others we have 
named in a previous chapter. Casein is a white, 
flaky substance, and can be separated from the milk 
in various ways ; these will be specified when we 
come to write particularly of cheese, and cheese 
making. There are also in every 100 lbs., from 4 to 
5 lbs. of a species of sugar, called wilk sugar; this is 
not so sweet as cane sugar, and does not dissolve so 
easily in water. It may be obtained by evaporating 
down the whey, after separation of the casein or curd. 
In Switzerland it is made somewhat largely, and used 
for food. 

The butter or oil amounts to from 3 to 5 lbs. in 
every 100 of milk. Lastly, the ash is from J to 
I lb. in each 100. This ash is rich in phosphates, 
as shown in the following table ; it represents the 
composition of two samples, each of the ash from 
1000 lbs. of milk 

TABLE XI. 

No. 1, No. 2. 

Phosphate of Lime, -23 .... '34 

Phosphate of Magnesia, '05 .... "07 

Chloride of Potassium, '14 .... '18 

Chloride of Sodium (com. salt), . -02 .... '03 

Free Soda, -04 '05 

0-50 0-67 

We shall refer to this table again. 

The butter, as stated above, is from 3 to 5 lbs in 
each 100 of milk. It exists in the form of minute 
globules, scattered through the liquid. These glo- 



USE OF THE GALACTOMETER. 165 

bules of butter or fat are enveloped in casein or 
curd, and are a very little lighter than the milk ; if 
it is left undisturbed, they therefore rise slowly to the 
surface, and form cream. If the milk be much agi-> 
tated and stirred about, the cream will be much 
longer in rising -, so also if it is in a deep vessel, as 
a pail, in place of shallow pans. Warmth promotes 
its rising. 

a. There is a little instrument called the galado- 
meter, intended to measure the richness of milk. 
This consists of a series of graduated tubes, which, 
by means of small divisions, mark the thickness of 
cream that rises to their surface. It is not a correct 
instrument, for the reason that I have already stated, 
that cream does not rise so well through a deep 
column of milk as through a shallow one. The 
quantity of cream then, indicated by a galactometer, 
will always fall short of the real proportion which 
the milk contains. It may sometimes be of use, for 
comparing the richness of milk from various cows of 
the same dairy. 

When milk is drawn in the usual way from the / 
cow, the last of the milking is much the richest : this / 
is because the cream has, in great part, risen to the sur- 
face inside of the cow's udder; the portion last drawn 
off then, of course contains the most of it. Such a fact 
shows the importance of thorough and careful milk- 
ing. In some large dairies, the last milkings from 
each cow are collected in a separate pail. More / 
milk is said to be obtained from the same cow when \ 
she is milked three times a day, than when but once j 
or twice ; less when milked once than twice, but in 
this last case it is very rich. 

Some large breeds of cows, are remarkable for / 
giving very great quantities of poor watery milk : J 
other small breeds give small quantities of a milk, that f- 
contains an uncommon proportion of cream. These 



166 SMALL COWS PREFERRED. 

/ large breeds are kept in many parts of the country 

j about London, for the purpose of supplying the city. 

' By giving them succulent food, the milkmen contrive 

to increase still farther the watery nature of their 

milk, as before noticed. 

The small breeds have one great advantage : it 
requires a much less quantity of food to supply the 
wants of their bodies, so that all over that quantity 
goes to the enriching of the milk. A weight of 
food therefore, with which they could give good milk, 
Avould only suffice to keep up the body of the larger 
animal, and the milk would consequently be poor and 
watery. This is probably one chief reason, why the 
milk of the small breeds generally excels so decidedly 
in richness. 



SECTION n. OF BUTTER. 

We are now to consider the various methods of 
making butter, and some of the questions connected 
with its preservation. The object in churning, is to 
break up the coverings of the little globules of 
butter : this is done by continued dashing and agita- 
tion ; w'hen it has been continued for a certain time, 
the butter appears first in small grains, and finally 
works together into lumps. 

a. Where cream is churned, the best practice seems 
to be, to allow of its becoming slightly sour : this 
sourness takes place in the cheesy matter, or casein, 
that is mixed in the cream, and has no effect upon 
the butter beyond causing its more speedy and perfect 
separation. 

h. In many dairies the practice is to churn the whole 
milk. This requires larger churns, and is best done 
by the aid of water or animal power: it is considered 
to produce more butter, and this is said by some to be 
finer and of better quality. I do not think that there 



PROPER TEMPERATURE FOR CHURISlNa. 16 7 

have been any very decisive experiments upon this / 
point. 

The excellence of butter is greatly influenced by the 
temperature of the milk or cream, at the time of 
churning; if this be either too hot or too cold, it is 
difficult to get butter at all, and when got, it is usually 
of poor quality. A large number of experiments have 
been made with regard to this point, and the result 
arrived at is, that cream should be churned at a ) 
temperature, when the churning commences, of from / 
50 to 55 deg. of Fahrenheit's thermometer. If whole ' 
milk is used, the temperature should be about 65 deg. \ 
F. at commencing. In summer, then, cream would / 
need cooling, and sometimes in winter a little warmth. , 
It is s,urprising how the quality of the butter is im- 
proved by attention to these points. I have seen 
churns made double, so that warm water, or some 
cooling mixture, according as the season was winter . 
or summer, might be put into the outer part. It will ■ 
be seen, that in whatever way the temperature is regu- \ 
lated, a thermometer is a most important accompani- 
ment to the dairy. 

The time occupied in churning, is also a matter of 
much consequence. Several churns have been ex- 
hibited lately, which will make butter in from 3 to 10 
minutes, and these are spoken of as important im- 
provements. The most carefully conducted trials on 
this point, have shown that as the time of churning 
was shortened, the butter grew poorer in quality; and 
this is consistent with reason. Such violent ao-itation 
as is effected in these churns, separates the butter, it 
is true, but the globules are not thoroughly deprived 
of the casein which covers them in the milk; there is 
consequently much cheesy matter mingled with the 
butter, which is ordinarily soft, and pale, and does not 
keep welL Until the advocates of very short time in 
churning, can show that the butter made by their 



168 WASHING AND WORKING OF BUTTER 

churns is equal in quality to that produced in the or- 
dinary time, I'anners had better beware how they 
change their method, lest the quality of their butter, 
and consequently the reputation of their dairy, be 
injured. 

Butter contains two kinds of fat. If melted in wa- 
ter at about 180 F., a nearly colorless oil is obtained, 
which becomes solid on cooling. If the solid mass be 
subjected to pressure in a strong press, at about 60 F., 
a pure liquid oil runs out, and there remains a solid 
white fat. The liquid fat is called elaine, and the 
solid fat, inargarine. These two bodies are present in 
many other animal and vegetable oils and fats. They 
are both nearly tasteless, and, when quite pure, will 
keep without change for a long time. In presgice of 
certain impurities, however, they do change. 

If great care is not taken in washing and working, 
when makino; butter, some buttermilk is left enclosed 
in it; the buttermilk, of course, contams casein, the 
nitrogenous body which we have already described; 
there is also some of the milk sugar mentioned in sec- 
tion I. The casein, like all other bodies containing 
much nitrogen, is very liable to decomposition. This 
soon ensues therefore, whenever it is contained in but- 
ter; and certain chemical transformations are by this 
means soon commenced, whereby the margarine and 
elaine are in part changed to other and very disagree- 
able substances; those which give the rancid taste 
and smell, to bad butter. The milk sugar is instru- 
mental in bringing about these changes. It is de- 
composed into an acid by the action of the casein, and 
has a decided effect upon the fatty substances of but- 
ter, causing them to become rancid. This action and 
consequent change comes on more or less rapidly, as 
the temperature is warmer or colder. 

No matter how well the butter is made in other re- 
spects; if buttermilk he left in it, there is always, from 



SALTING OF BUTTER. 169 

the causes above mentioned, a liability to become 
rancid and offensive. When packed in iirkins, it will 
be rancid next to their sides and tops; will be injured 
to a greater or less depth, as the air may have obtain-^ 
ed access. Salting will partially overcome the ten- 
dency to spoil, but not entirely, unless the butter is 
made so salt as to be hardly eatable. Another reason 
for much of the poor butter, which is unfortunately 
too common, is to be found in the impure quality of 
the salt used. This should not contain any magnesia 
or lime, as both injure the butter; they give it a bit- 
ter taste, and prevent its keeping for any length of 
time. Prof. Johnston mentions a simple method of 
freeing common salt from these impurities. It is to 
add to 30 lbs. of salt about 2 qts. of boiling water, 
stirring the whole thoroughly now and then, and al- 
lowing it to stand for two hours or more. It may be 
afterward hung up in a bag, and allowed to drain. 
The liquid that runs off is a saturated solution of salt, 
with all the magnesia and lime which were present. 
These are much more soluble than the salt, and are 
consequently dissolved first. 

Want of caution as to the quality of salt used, and of 
care in separating the buttermilk, cause the spoiling 
of very great stocks of butter every year; a large part 
of that sent to Europe is sold for soap grease, and lor 
other common purposes, simply because these points 
have been neglected. 



SECTION IIL OF CASEIN AND CHEESE. 

Cheese is made from the casein of milk: this casein 
or curd, is separated from the whey by means of ren- 
net; the same thing may be done by small quantities 
of acids, as acetic or hydrochloric acid; and if the 
milk be allowed to stand long, it will be done na- 
turally by the formation of what is called lactic acid, 

15 



170 ALLUSION TO THE MAKING OF CHEESE. 

from the milk sugar. The appearance which the curd 
of milk, or the casein presents, when curdled eithei 
by rennet or an acid, is so w^ell known as to render 
any description unnecessary. 

a. In the analyses of the ash from milk, Table xi., 
was mentioned a small quantity of free soda. This 
being dissolved in milk, keeps the casein likewise in 
solution; but when any of the acid substances men- 
tioned above are added, they immediately unite with 
and neutralize the soda; the liquid then of course be- 
comes acid, so that the curd falls down at once. Ren- 
net is not supposed to do this by acting as an acid, 
but by promoting the formation of an acid in the milk 
itself, which does the work. The milk is thus made 
to curdle by the action of its own acid. 

This is not the place to enlarge upon the practical 
methods of cheese-making, nor upon the endless va- 
rieties of cheeses to be found in this and other coun- 
tries. Scarcely any two districts have a similar prac- 
tice in their manufacture, or produce an article at all 
identical in its taste or appearance. Those of some 
districts would be considered the reverse of excellent 
in others. For instance, a variety most highly valued 
in Paris, has undergone an incipient putrefaction, so as 
to evolve ammonia. 

• The richest cheeses are made by adding the last 
night's cream to the morning's milk. Such are the 
Stilton cheeses of England; from these we have them 
all the way down to skim milk, and, in some counties 
'^f Fngland, to those which are made from milk that 
lias been skimmed for three or four days in succession. 
Such as these are perfectly hard and horny. The 
following table from Prof Johnston's lectures, gives 
the composition of several English and Scotch va- 
rieties of cheese. 



COMPOSITION OF CHEESE. 
TABLE XII. 



171 



In 100 lbs. 


No, 1. 


No. 2. 


No. 3. 


No. 4. 


Water 

Casein 

Butter 

Ash 


43,82 

45.04 

5.98 

5.18 


35.81 

37.96 

21.97 

4.25 


38.58 

25.00 

50.11 

6.29 


38.46 

25.87 

31.86 

3,81 



No. 1 represents a skimmed milk cheese: it will be 
seen that the proportion of butter is very much small- 
er than in Nos. 2, 3, and 4; it is, however, weight for 
weight, more nutritious than any of the others. It 
will surprise most persons, to know that cheese con- 
tains from J to 2 its weight of water; and that in eat- 
ing very rich cheeses, fully | of what they eat is 
butter. No. 4 is a rich Ayrshire cheese, of the kind 
with which some of our American dairies come espe- 
cially into competition. This was a particularly fine 
sample. Cheese, judging from the above analyses, 
is both a very nutritious and a very fattening food. 
The richness of the finer varieties, prevents their being 
eaten in large quantities. On skim milk cheese, such 
as that in the first column, a man might live very 
well as a principal article of diet. 

It will be noticed that all of these cheeses contain 
a considerable proportion of ash: this ash is more 
than half phosphates, chiefly phosphate of lime; of the 
remainder a large part, as might be supposed, is com- 
mon salt, that has been added to the cheese in curing. 
In various districts there are different ways of intro- 
ducing the salt. In some cases it is all put in before 
the cheese is j^ressed; in others it is all absorbed from 
the exterior, after the cheese is made. This will not 
do for very thick cheeses. In making these, a portion 
of the curd is sometimes doubly salted, and placed in 
the centre; the intention being to ensure that the salt 
absorbed from the exterior shall penetrate till it meets 



172 PRECAUTIONS IN MAKING CHEESE. 

the part already salted, so that no part of the cheese 
shall escape. 

The temperature of the milk at the time when 
rennet is added, for the purpose of curdling it, is a 
matter of much importance to the quality of the 
cheese. The best authorities prescribe from 90 to 
95 deg. of Fahrenheit. 

a. Great care should be used in expelling the whey 
from the curd, and afterward from the cheese in press- 
ing, as the milk sugar which the whey contains changes 
its composition, as it does in butter, and communicates 
a disagreeable flavor to the cheese; by this means 
cracks are often formed, and it becomes full of little 
holes. 

6. The use of bad salt is another way of effectu- 
ally injuring the quality of the cheese, making it bit- 
ter, and preventing it from keeping well. The im- 
purities of the salt are here the same as those which 
were mentioned under the head of butter, in the pre- 
ceding section; and the method to be adopted for 
purifying, is also the same. Want of care in pressing 
and working out the whey, the use of bad salt, and 
neglect as to the temperature at which the milk is 
curdled, chiefly operate in producing the multitude of 
inferior cheeses which we find in every market; not 
destitute of richness, but miserable in appearance and 
flavor. 



SECTION IV, VARIOUS POINTS RELATIVE TO MILK AND 

CHEESE. 

From the composition of the ash of cheese, as just 
noticed, and that of milk, mentioned before, w^e can 
easily see how it is that pastures become poor in 
phosphates. All that which is sold off in cheese, 
never returns to the soil; and that fed to fattening ani- 
mals in milk, is also for the most part lost. Beside 



FEEDING OF DAIRY COWS. 173 

the milk which each cow gives for dairy purposes, 
there is also her annual calf, the phosphates in the 
bones of which must also come out of the pasture It 
is certain that in the bones of the calf, and in the 
milk, each cow would deprive the pasture of at least 
50 or 60 lbs. of bone earth, or phosphate of lime, in 
each year. For these reasons it is, that bones, as has 
been indicated, are most likely to prove of great ad- 
vantage as a manure on worn out pastures, and also 
on meadows that are used in the autumn for feeding. 
Applied as dust, or still better dissolved in sulphuric 
acid, a few bushels per acre (in the latter case two is 
enough) have been found to produce a most wonder- 
ful effect; in many cases doubling and even tripling 
the value of pastures, within a year or two after the 
application. 

The different properties of milk which have been 
noticed, suggest one or two hints relative to the feed- 
ing of milch cows. We have seen that the quantity 
of milk may be increased by feeding with watery suc- 
culent food. There is no doubt but the quantity of 
butter would be greatly augmented, by feeding in the 
same manner as for fattening, with food rich in oily or 
fatty substances. If cheese-making were the object, 
varieties of food rich in nitrogen, as beans, peas, 
clover, indian corn, etc., might be expected to produce 
a good effect. 

In feeding with oily food, care is to be taken that 
it is not of a nature to communicate any unpleasant 
flavor to the butter. Linseed cake is an instance of 
this; a small proportion of it, given with other food, 
has an excellent influence, increasing the quantity of 
butter in a marked degree; too much, however, gives 
a very unpleasant taste. This effect is perfectly 
natural; as every one knows that all strong tasting 
food eaten by cows, as onions, leeks, cabbages, tur- 

15* 



174 NOURISHING QUALITIES OF MILK, 

\ nips, etc., if in considerable quantity, impart a most 
1 disagreeable flavor to their milk. 

We are now able to understand, how admirably milk 
is fitted to the purpose for which it is designed, the 
nourishment of the young animal. In its casein is 
a substance which furnishes just the material for 
muscles, tendons, and all the solid flesh of the body. 

The butter lubricates the joints, makes the skin soft, 
and furnishes the fat generally, beside being used in 
case of necessity for respiration. The milk sugar is 
equally available with starch, and common sugar, for 
the purpose of respiration, thus keeping up the heat 
of the body. 

Finally, in its ash we have the phosphates for 
building up the bones, the framework of the body, and 
other saline substances for supplying the blood and 
the flesh with their inorganic part. 

V 



175 



CHAPTER XV. 

CONNECTED RECAPITULATION OF THE VARIOUS 
TOPICS TREATED IN THE PRECEDING CHAP- 
TERS. 

We have now gone over nearly all of the ground 
that I have thought it advisable to traverse, in a trea- 
tise of this character. It may be of advantage, in 
closing, to give a condensed view of the whole sub- 
ject, recapitulating the main points that have been 
illustrated and explained. 

This will serve as a species of index, and will, at 
the same time, recall such arguments and facts rela- 
tive to the various divisions indicated, as may have 
been forgotten. 

CHAPTER I. 

The art of cultivating the soil; what this is, in its 
f roper meaning. 

Plants. Great division of them into organic and 
inorganic substances. Organic bodies burn away ; 
inorganic bodies incombustible. 

Names of organic bodies : carbon, hydrogen, nitro« 
gen, oxygen. 

Carbon, a solid, of which charcoal, plumbago, and 
the diamond are forms. Hard, and combustible. 

Hydrogen, a gas, colorless, tasteless, inodorous, the 
lightest body known. Inflammable, explosive when 
mixed with air, extinguishes combustion, and will 
not sustain life. 



176 RECAPITULATION 

Oxygen, a gas, colorless, tasteless, inodorous, not 
inflammable; supports combustion most energetically; 
supports life, both animal and vegetable; unites with 
nearly all other bodies, and forms oxides; most abun- 
dant of all known substances. 

Nitrogen, colorless, tasteless, inodorous; does not 
support combustion; does not burn itself; does not 
maintain life. 

The great importance, and the vast diffusion of these 
bodies. 

CHAPTER n. 

The inorganic part of the plant. 

Consists of potash, soda, lime, magnesia, oxide of 
iron, oxide of manganese, silica, chlorine, sulphuric 
acid (oil of vitriol), phosphoric acid. 

1. Potash, common potash, pearlash, caustic potash. 

2. Soda, caustic soda, carbonate of soda, for wash- 

ing. 

3. Lime, quicklime, common limestone, plaster of 

paris, marls generally. 

4. Magnesia, calcined magnesia, epsom salts (sul- 

phate of magnesia). 

5. Oxide of iron, common iron rust. 

6. Oxide of manganese, commercial black oxide of 

manganese^ 

7. Silica, common quartz, flint, agate, cornelian, chal- 

cedonyo 

8. Chlorine, a gas; of a green color, heavy, suffo- 

cating odor ; does not burn, but some metals 
when finely powdered, inflame in it. 

9. Sulphuric acid, common oil of vitriol. 

10. Phosphoric acid ; burn common phosphorus, a 
white, very sour powder. 
These are all present, in cultivated crops, though 
usually not in large quantity. 



OF THE PRECEDING ClLAi'TEKS. 177 



CHAPTER IIL 

Sources of the food of plants. 

Their organic food comes chiefly from the air. 

Carbonic acid, a gas, heavy, extinguishes combus- 
tion, fatal to life; no color, slight acid taste, and pe- 
culiar smell. Furnishes carbon to plants. 

This gas is absorbed from the atmosphere by day, 
through the leaves, and oxygen is at the same time 
given off; 2 5Voth of carbonic acid exists in the 
air. 

How the supply of it is kept up; combustion, re- 
spiration, decomposition. 

The hydrogen of plants is obtained from water. 

The oxygen comes from water, carbonic acid, and 
almost every form of food. 

Nitrogen is supplied by ammonia and nitric acid. 

Ammonia, a gas, gives the smell to aqua ammonia, 
and to smelling salts. 

Nitric acid, common aqua fortis. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Of the organic substance of plants ; structure of the 
stem, the roots, and the branches. 

Principal bodies which make up the organic part 
of plants. 

Woody fibre the most abundant of all, in stems, 
stalks, leaves, etc. 

Starch, the leading substance in seeds, and in many 
tubers. 

Sugar. Gum. Oils. Their nature and import- 
ance. 

These all composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen 
only, the two latter being in the proportions to form 



178 RECAPITULATION 

water; the same formula may and does represent them 
all 

Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen. 

The atmosphere consists of nitrogen and oxygen. 

CHAPTER V. 

Composition of the soil. 

We find here also an organic, and an inorganic 
part; the inorganic part largest, contrary to what was 
observed in plants. 

The organic part is derived from the decay of ani- 
mals and vegetables; the inorganic part from the 
decomposition of rocks. 

The inorganic part consists of the same substances 
as the inorganic part of plants, with the addition of 
alumina. This is a white substance, which gives 
stiffness to clays. 

A very fertile soil contains all of these substances, 
and that in considerable quantity. 

One which is fertile only with the addition of ma- 
nure, has deficiencies of some substances which the 
manures added supply. 

One which is barren, has nearly every thing that is 
valuable wanting. 

The three principal varieties of rocks, are limestones, 
sandstones, and clays. 

Soils may be named, as one or other of these pre- 
dominate. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Mechanical improvement of the soil. 

Nature of the connection between the soil and the 
plant. Benefit of mixing clay with sand, and sand 
with clay. 



OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS. 179 

Injuries arising from wetness of the soil. It causes 
the formation of vegetable acids, and other hurtful sub- 
stances. 

These defects to be removed by draining. 

Drains to be 30 to 36 inches deep, and always co- 
vered. If made of stones, these should be broken 
small; if of tiles, these may be either of the round, 
oval, or horseshoe shape. The earth to be rammed 
hard above them in all cases. They ought to run 
straight down slopes, and be placed 24 to 50 feet 
apart. 

Subsoil and trench ploughing; difference in the two 
operations, and nature of their eifect. 

The inorganic substances of the soil are found in 
plants, with the single exception of alumina. 

The quantity of some of them is quite small in 
plants, but all are absolutely necessary. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Effect of cropping upon the soil. 

Different crops take away the inorganic substances 
of the soil in different proportions; their ash also va- 
ries in composition. 

The grains contain chiefly phosphates. 

Potatoes and turnips, mostly potash and soda. 

Grasses, for the most part, lime and silica; straws, 
nearly all silica. 

This explains the principle of rotation. One crop 
may find food when the land has been exhausted for 
another, and so a succession may be continued for 
some years. 

The value of land is kept up by such a course for a 
greatly increased length of time. 



180 RECAPITULATION 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Of manures. 

Irrigation, or manuring by running water. 

Vegetable manures, their naturei Not so energetic 
in action as some fertilizers, but very beneficial to the 
soil 

Green crops for ploughing under. These lighten 
and mellow the soil, add organic matter to it drawn 
from the air, and bring up mineral substances from 
the subsoil. 

Straw. Seaweed : valuable composition of its ash; 
should be applied in compost, or ploughed in fresh. 
Rape dust, how used. 

Animal manures. 

Flesh, blood, hair, horns, bones, etc. All quite rich, 
containing much nitrogen, and very valuable. 

The animal contains no silica. 

Bones are best applied in the form of dust, or dis- 
solved by sulphuric acid. 

Phosphates of the bones, are important to replace 
those carried away by the grain crops. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Jlnimal manures {^continued). 

Manures of domestic animals. 

Importance of preserving both the solid and the 
liquid parts of the manure; tanks are necessary, and 
all other precautions, to prevent drainage, exposure, 
and consequent loss of nitrogen. 

Manure of birds richest of all, having the solid and 
the liquid parts together. Guano an instance of this 
class, very rich in nitrogen and in phosphates. 

Fish, an important manure; contains much nitro- 



OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS. 18 i 

gen, and decomposes easily. For this reason, it should 
be at once covered, or made into compost. 

Saline and mineral manures. 

Lime. Used as quicklime, slaked lime, and mild, 
or air-slaked lime. 

Quicklime only to be used where there are no rich 
manures, as when in contact with them, it liberates 
nitrogen, and thus deteriorates the manure. 

The effect of lime in the soil, is to decompose or- 
ganic and inorganic compounds, as well as to furnish 
food for plants. 

Marls, a form of carbonate of lime; shell sand also 
another form : their beneficial effect as manures. 



CHAPTER X. 

Saline and mineral manures {^continued). 

Gypsum, or plaster of paris, a compound of sulphuric 
acid and lime, valuable food for plants. Its good effects 
in attracting gases ancimoisture; abuse of it by adding, 
for a series of years, w^ithout other manure. 

Common salt, nitrate of soda, nitrate of potash 
(saltpetre), carbonate of soda, etc., all powerful ma- 
nures. 

None of these, nor guano, should be in immediate 
contact with the seed, and are best applied in small 
quantities, with half the usual allowance of farmyard 
manure. A mixture of them, much better than one 
alone. 

Wood ashes, coal ashes, peat ashes, are all good 
manures ; ought to be kept from rain till they aro 
used. Good to extirpate weeds, and to mix with 
other things for sowing;. 

Soot, a rich manure, contains much ammonia and 
inorganic substances. 

16 



182 RECAPITULATION 



CHAPTER XI. 

Composition of various crops. 

Wheat contains from 50 to 65 per ct. of starch, 
12 to 20 per ct. of gluten, 3 to 5 per ct. of fatty- 
matter. Oats, barley and rye do not differ greatly in 
composition. 

Buckwheat less nutritious. Rice contains 80 per ct, 
of starch. 

Indian corn has 60 per ct. of starch, oil about 10 
per ct., protein substances 12 to 16 per ct. ; is a very 
fattening food. 

In peas and beans are starch about 40 per ct., pro- 
tein 25 to 30 per ct., and a little oil. 

Potatoes contain 75 per ct. of water, 14 to 20 per 
ct. of starch, and 1 to 2 per ct. of protein. 

Turnips, beets, etc., have about 90 per ct. of water, 
and small quantities of protein, gum, sugar, etc. 
They make up for the poor quality, by the quantity 
of nutritive matter that they ^ield per acre, more 
than any other crops. 

CHAPTER Xn. 

Application of crops in feeding. 

Nitrogenous or protein bodies of the plant, are the 
same as those which form the muscle, and all the 
other parts of the animal that contain nitrogen. 

The oily or fatty matters are also nearly identical 
In composition. 

The inorganic substances are the same as in the 
plant, with the single exception of silica. 

The plant is a species of manufactory, to supply 
food for the animal in the most convenient form. 

Starch is in great part used up for the purposes of 
respiration : it is consumed by a species of combus- 



OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS. 183 

tion in the lungs and blood, to keep the animal warm. 
Fat, gum, and sugar, may also serve the same pur- 
pose, when necessary. 

The young animal should have food containing 
substances to increase its bulk; should not be stinted. 

All animals exposed to cold, use up a large portion 
of their food in keeping warm. 

The full grown working animal only needs enough 
food to keep all of its parts complete : does not in- 
crease its bulk; hence its manure is richer. 

The fattening animal requires food of such a 
character as to lay fat and flesh on its frame ; its 
manure is also valuable, in all cases it is better as the 
food is richer. 

Various modes of feeding ; advantage of cutting 
straw, stalks, etc. 

CHAPTER Xra. 

Feeding {^continued.) 

■ The system of feeding green crops; its probable 
advantage. 

Feeding under shelter; sheltered stock increase 
more with less food. 

Influence of the state in which food is given. Cut, 
cooked, soured food; theories of their action. 

Any form usually better, so long as the animal will 
eat it, that increases the ease of digestion. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Milk and dairy produce. 

Composition of milk. 

Butter is a species of fat, enclosed in globules : 
these rise to the surface of milk, and form cream. 

Temperature at which churning is commenced, 
highly important; also the time occupied, a tolerably 
long time probably best. 



184 CIRCULATION OF THE ELEMENTS. 

Care to be taken in separating buttermilk; conse- 
quences if any remains; salt to be pure. 

Ash from milk is particularly rich in phosphates. 

Cheese, made from casein of milk, a nitrogenous 
body thrown down or curdled by acids. 

Various qualities of cheese, due in a degree to the 
greater or less richness of the milk. 

Care to be taken in expelling whey, and necessity 
of using pure salt. 

Milk should be curdled at a certain temperature. 

Influence which selling off butter and cheese must 
have on pastures, by carrying away phosphates, etc. 

This show^s why bones are so beneficial an appli- 
cation to pastures. 



I have but a few words to add in conclusion; these 
relate to the beautiful and distinct connection, w^hich 
exists between each part of the outline now com- 
pleted. We may follow any particular substance in 
its course from the inanimate soil to the living plant, 
from the plant to the living and conscious animal, and 
finally see it return to the soil once more. In all of 
its changes it remains the same in its nature, but is 
constantly presented to us in new forms. 

The earth, the mother of all, from whose bosom 
all forms of life directly or indirectly spring, and 
also draw their nourishment during existence, is sure, 
sooner or later, to attract her children to her breast 
again. The same source from w^hich they drew 
their life, receives them in death and decay. 

We see then from these facts, that there is an end- 
less chain of circulation, from the earth, up through the 
plant, to the animal, and then again back to the parent 
earth. By watching this chain, and the various trans- 
formations of matter during its course, we may hope 
ot grow constantly wiser, in every department of agri- 



NOTHING LOST IN NATURE. 185 

culture. We discover that nothing is lost : if we burn 
a piece of ^YOod, it disappears, but has merely been 
converted into carbonic acid and water, both of which 
are at once ready to enter into new combinations. 
The animal or the plant dies, and also after a time 
disappears; but in its decay, every particle furnishes 
food for a new series of living things. The farmer 
can annihilate nothing, he can only change the form 
of his materials: every study which will enable him 
to do this according to his wish, should be pursued 
eagerly and perseveringly. 

The farmer must remember that all of the substances 
with which he has to do, all of the agents that are at 
his command, are connected in their composition and 
action with the fourteen elementary bodies, organic 
and inorganic, that have been described in this little 
work. If he preserves them, or if he adds them as 
manures in an improper form, his utmost exertions 
are of little avail; if in a proper form, his land 
becomes fertile, and his returns all that heart 
could wish. If one is absent, the others may all 
be useless; if one is present too largely, the same 
effect upon the action of the others may ensue. How 
immensely important then, 'and how directly practical 
is the knowledge of these elements, and of the im- 
mense variety of combinations in which they present 
themselves ! 

In this connection, I wish to add two chapters as 
an appendix, upon particular subjects, for which there 
has seemed before to be no appropriate place; and 
which I have therefore omitted till now, rather than 
interrupt the continuity of the preceding chapters. 

The first of these subjects, is that of chemical ana- 
lysis. So many erroneous views are published, and 
otherwise disseminated, on this important branch of 
study, that it seems necessary to present here some 
plain statements and facts, which may in a degree 

16* 



186 IMPORTANCE OF CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. 

counteract the false impressions that have gone abroad. 
I shall endeavour to explain what a good analysis 
ought to be, and to give some simple methods for 
chemical examinations. 

The second subject will be geology. This science 
has been alluded to in passing, and the nature of its 
connection with agriculture partially explained. I 
propose here to give more details, and also some 
illustrations as to the laws which are most important 
to the practical man. 



187 
CHAPTER XVI. 

OF CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. 
SECTION I. THE TRUE NATURE OF CHEMICAL ANALYSIS 

Among all of the subjects that have been presentee! 
to the consideration of farmers, since the work of agfri- 
cultm'al improvement commenced, none has been less 
understood, even by many of those who have pre- 
tended to be its expounders, than that of analytical 
chemistry as applied to agriculture. 

Many authors and speakers have labored to esta- 
blish it as a fact, that there is no difficulty in chemical 
investigations, beyond what may be overcome by 
a few days of study : thus a large portion of the 
farming community have been led into the belief that 
when proper institutions are established, they them- 
selves, or at least their children, may in a few weeks 
time do all of their own analytical work; just as they 
do their own ploughing, and as well as the most ac- 
complished chemist could do it. 

That such ideas as these are totally at variance Avith 
the truth, none who have ever studied the subject 
thoroughly can for a moment doubt. It is a perfectly 
safe conclusion when any man asserts, for instance, 
the entire simplicity and ease of analysing a soil, that 
his analyses would not be of a very accurate descrip- 
tion. 

Chemistry is a science that must be studied earnest- 
ly and perseveringly, just like any other branch of 
knowledge which has a wide range. In order to know 
what is in a soil, and to determine what are the quan- 
tities of its constituents, an intimate acquaintance is 



188 EVILS RESULTING 

necessary, not only with the substances themselves in 
their almost endless relations and changes; but with 
great numbers of other substances from which they 
must be distinguished, and with which they are likely 
to be confounded by an inexperienced person. 

We can only determine quantities by means of cer- 
tain chemical processes : most of these depend on the 
addition of other bodies, to a solution in which 
are dissolved those that we wish to separate. Sup- 
pose now these bodies which are thus added to be im- 
pure : obviously the whole result will be erroneous; 
the chemist then, must know how to distinguish w^ith 
certainty between pure and impure substances, and to 
tell what the impurities are. 

When he knows all of these things, there are still 
a great number of minor but very important points, 
that require attention. He must use absolutely pure 
water, must filter his liquids through paper that has 
very little ash, and must weigh everything upon a 
balance that is sensitive to at least the tenth of a 
grain. 

I might go on and mention other requisites to a 
good analysis, but those already noted are sufficient 
to show, that great care, skill, and experience, are 
absolutely essential in this business; that uninstructed 
persons must constantly be making mistakes of the 
most flagrant description. The worst difficulty of all 
is, that in many cases, not having even knowledge 
enough to know when they have gone astray, they 
actually rely upon their own work as trustworthy, and 
lead others to do so too. 

Results produced by such proficients are unhappily 
too common, and are always productive of harm 
wherever they go. The farmer, who knows little or 
nothing of even chemical names, perhaps is not com- 
petent to judge of a good analysis; he can not tell the 
diiference between a pretender to scientific know- 



FROM ERRONEOUS ANALYSES. 189 

ledge, and one who really knows something that is 
true and valuable. He takes these erroneous analyses 
as his guides, and probably falls at once into some 
serious mistake, by attempting to alter the supposed 
constitution of his soil. After he has been disappointed 
in this way a few times, he is very apt to condemn 
all scientific agriculture as ridiculous, and of no avail 
for any practical purposes. 

What I W'ish to impress in this connection, is the 
necessity of caution in coming to such a decision. Let 
it first be considered, if the experiments to be carried 
out have been properly and carefully made, so that 
there could be no mistake in that direction. Let it 
next be ascertained that no physical obstacles are in 
the way of success, and if it is found beyond doubt that 
there has been no error from either of these causes, then 
let the farmer conclude — not that chemistry and sci- 
entific investigation are useless; but that the results of 
analysis obtained w^ere wTongly interpreted, or that the 
examinations w^ere incorrectly made. 

There is truth in science, but it is not every one 
who can draw it out; and the proper course in cases 
of an unsatisfactory nature, is to distrust the inarif and 
not the general principles. 

It is easy to show that there are very serious diffi- 
culties, other than those which have been already men- 
tioned, in the way of making perfect analyses. We 
will take soils as an instance. Where mention has 
been made of the inorganic substances in soils, as in 
Table L p. 60, it must have been noticed that the pro- 
portions of some of them were quite small, so much so 
as to seem of little importance. It W' as, however, ex- 
plained that the presence of these minute quantities 
was absolutely necessary, so much so that our culti- 
vated crops would not thrive without them. 

Half a pound of phosphoric acid in 100 lbs. of 
earth, is a very unusually large proportion, even in 



190 GREAT CARE AND SKILL 

our most fertile soils. Half a pound in 100, makes 
but a small figure Avhen we come to give the compo- 
sition of a single pound; it is only five-thousandths, 
j-QQo, of a pound. Now 1 lb. is a far larger quantity of 
material than can be used with safety for an accurate 
analysis. The instruments employed, and the various 
methods of operation adopted, are such as, in nearly 
all cases, to forbid the use of a large bulk or weight 
of the substance to be examined. Consequently only a 
small fraction of a pound is worked upon, and from 
this all of the bodies present are to be separated, even 
down to small parts of a single grain. 

It becomes at once obvious, that very great care, 
very good apparatus, and no small portion of skill, are 
requisite to an analytical chemist in the determination 
of these minute quantities. If any of the chemicals 
used in the analysis are impure, the impurities of 
course have an influence upon the result: hence the 
chemist must know the properties of many other bo- 
dies beside those upon which he is at work, in order 
to be sure that he is not addino; somethino; which 
will prove injurious to the accuracy of his results. 

There is still another, among many points that 
might be noticed in this connection. The processes 
necessary for the determination of potash, soda, and 
phosphoric acid, when all are present and in combi- 
nation with other bodies, are in the last degree com- 
plicated and difficult. Many ways of determining 
them are described in books; some of these are alto- 
gether faulty, and all require much skill and know- 
ledge on the part of the operator, that he may avoid 
serious errors. These bodies, it will be remembered, 
are among the most important that soils contain, be- 
cause they are most likely to be exhausted by crop- 
ping. A comparatively inexperienced or uninstructed 
person, may determine iron, alumina, oi* silica, those 



REQUIRED IN CONDUCTING ANNLYSES. 191 

bodies which make up the bulk of soils; but when 
ihey come to the most important part, the detection 
and separation of these small quantities, they proba- 
bly either fail to find them at all, find them when they 
are not there, or find altogether too much. 

In view of the foregoing remarks, how inconsiderate, 
and how unwise, are the statements of those who would 
lead the farming community to think that each 
man is in a short time to acquire the skill to deter- 
mine all problems of a chemical nature, that may 
present themselves in the course of his experience. It 
is true that there is nothing mentioned above, which 
can not be acquired by any intelligent man, but he 
can only accomplish it after a long course of study. 
When he has gone through with this course, still other 
difficulties present themselves; to make perfect ana- 
lyses, he requires a laboratory, and rather expensive 
apparatus of various kinds. 

A good analysis must have his undivided attention, 
and even then will occupy him not less than from ten 
days to a fortnight; and what is to become of his 
farm in the mean time? On the other hand, if he 
devotes himself actively to his practical pursuits, as 
every good farmer must, for at least a large part of 
the year, his chemical knowledge rusts, and he soon 
loses his facility and aptitude for making reliable 
analyses. 

The truth is, tiiat the tvv'o pursuits are dissimilar: 
the chemist may and should know much of practical 
agriculture, but still his main business must be che- 
mistry; the farmer may and should know much of 
science, but his daily occupation must be in the field. 
His leisure time may be most agreeably and profitably 
employed in gaining scientific knowledi^e, but the 
business of analysis, and accurate chemical investiga- 
tions, must be left with those who are trained to it: 



192 SOME USEFUL EXAMINATIONS MAY BE MADE 

all points which practice alone can not explain, must 
go to them. 

But some objectors continue, " It is an immense tax 
on the farmer that he must have every soil analysed, 
every manure thoroughly examined; these investiga- 
tions are expensive, and are unattainable for this 
reason, by the great majority of the community." This 
is quite true, but it is no less true that the great ma- 
jority will never require such minute analyses. If the 
soils in a particular district are all formed from the 
same rock, one or two careful analyses will suffice to 
determine the general character of the whole. So 
with manures; a few analyses of any particular kind 
will settle its value, in whatever part of the country it 
may be used. In cases where there is any thing par- 
ticularly obscure or puzzling, in a soil or field, chemi- 
cal analysis must be called upon to solve the question. 

In most situations, as knowledge of these subjects 
increases, the intelligent farmer will daily become 
more and more qualified to experiment himself, for 
particular purposes, using manures of known compo- 
sition: he may thus frequently arrive, unassisted, at 
just and important conclusions. 

There are, moreover, some points upon Avhich the 
practical man may experiment, without becoming a 
chemist, and without previous instruction. To a no- 
tice of the more important among these, I shall devote 
the remainder of this chapter. 



SECTION II. AN ACCOUNT OF SOME SIMPLE CHEMICAL 
TESTS AND EXAMINATIONS. 

The classifying of soils by means of mechanical 
processes, has already been explained in Chapter V., 
and it is only necessary here to recal attention to it 
When an analysis of this kind is completed, the farmer 
has no light thrown from it upon the chemical com- 



BY THE PRACTICAL FARMER 193 

position of his soil, except so far as the silica and 
alumina, that is, the sand and clay, are separated, and 
their proportions known. 

The following course maybe adopted, in case more 
information is desired, regarding the especial consti- 
tuents of a soil. 

1. Take a weighed half pound or pound of the 
soil, and boil it in water for some hours: rain w^ater is 
purest. Then pour it upon a filter of coarse porous 
paper, of the kind that druggists use for their filtra- 
tions. The mode of managing this operation, may be 
seen in any druggist's shop. If the liquid does not 
come through clear at first, it must be refiltered till it 
is quite clear. The solution thus obtained is evapo- 
rated to dryness, and the solid residue burned. It will 
blacken at first, by the burning of its organic matter, 
but afterwards will become white again. 

a. It may now be weighed on a small apothecaries' 
balance, and the w^eight gives the percentage of in- 
orofanic matter soluble in w^ater, that exists in the 
soil. 

b. This portion consists in many soils, for the most 
part, of sulphates, or carbonates, of potash and soda. 
There is also commonly present some chloride of so 
dium, or common salt. 

These are all valuable constituents of a soil; and 
hence, where an experiment of this kind shows such 
soluble matter to abound, it may be inferred that the 
soil is well supplied with an important portion of its 
requisite substances. 

c. The part soluble in water is commonly not 
lartje ; it amounts to not more than from one to three 
per cent, in many excellent soils. 

2. Take another \veighed portion of soil, or the 
same which has already been boiled in water, and 
heat it with some muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid), 
diluted by two or three times its bulk of water. After 

17 



(94 DIIU;CTl(~)N.S 1X)K GONDLrCTING 

standing a few hours, put this also upon a filtei^ and 
wash the acid liquid through. 

a. Wash the residue upon the filter with successive 
portions of clear water, until it no longer tastes acid; 
it may then be burned until all of the organic part is 
consumed, and weighed when it is cooL This weight 
gives the percentage Oi" insoluble siliceous matter in 
the soil. 

h. To the filtered acid solution, is first added am- 
monia (common aqua ammonia), till it is no longer 
acid but alkaline; a flocculent precipitate then imme= 
(liately falls, being iron and alumina. If it is of ( 
deep red color, then iron predominates, and the con- 
trary if it is nearly white. If the precipitate has a 
whitish green color, and reddens when exposed to the 
air, then the soil contains the protoxide of iron, in 
place of the peroxide. The first, it will be remem- 
bered, was spoken of on p. 62, as injurious to plants. 
li is for this reason important to know which oxide is 
present. 

If it is shown by the above test to be the protoxide, 
the solution must be boiled again with an addition of 
a little nitric acid : this will convert all of the iron 
into peroxide, and it will thus remain upon the filter; 
the protoxide would have been partially washed 
through. Another fib ering is now necessary. Th^'i 
should be done as soon as the precipitate has settled, 
and while the liquid is w^arm, so that it may filter 
more rapidly. The whole operation should be done 
in the shortest practic^.ble time, and the liquid covered 
as far as possible from access of air. 

From the apparent quantity of the iron and alu- 
mina, as weighed after burning, may be judg/yJ with 
tolerable accuracy the proportion present in ths soil. 

c. If the soil contained much lime, an effe vescence 
would have been seen at first, when the acid was 
added : this is supposing the lime to be coataine/-* as 



CERTAIN USKFtiL ANALYSES. 195 

carbonate, or in combination with carbonic acid, that 
being the most common form. If it is not present 
as carbonate, or if this is in so small quantity as not 
to show any action with acid, there are still means for 
its easy and certain detection. To the solution pre- 
viously rendered alkaline by ammonia, and already fil* 
tered to separate iron and alumina, is to be added a lit~ 
tie common oxalic acid. If there be even the smallest 
weighable quantity of lime present, a white powdery 
precipitate will begin to fall^ from the abundance of 
this, may be estimated roughly the proportion of lime 
in the soil. 

All of the above important points, it w^ill be noticed, 
may be determined without any necessity for expen- 
sive materials or apparatus, by a person of ordinary 
intelligence. Easy as these things seem, however, 
in the description, so many difficulties will be found 
in practice, as will give the operator some conception 
of the care and study involved in a complete and de- 
tailed analysis J one where it is intended to ensure the 
greatest possible degree of accuracy. 

I have not mentioned any tests for the presence of 
phosphoric acid, and other of the less abundant sub- 
stances; because their detection and separation is so 
difficult, that the inexperienced beginner would only 
run into every description of error while looking for 
them. 

It is not a hard matter for the farmer to arrive at 
the probable value of a marl, with quite a tolerable 
degree of accuracy. A weighed portion must be 
taken, and diluted muriatic acid added from time to 
time, until all effervescence has ceased. The mixture 
is then boiled, or at least well heated, and thrown 
upon a filter. The insoluble residue which remains 
upon the filter, must be washed clean from acid, dried, 
and weighed : this is chiefly silica. Its weight, sub- 
ti'acted from the oiiginal weight taken, will, in most 



196 DIRECTIONS FOR CONDUCTING 

cases, give nearly the amount of carbonate of lime 
that has been dissolved out by the acid. Small quan- 
tities of other substances have been dissolved at the 
same time, which have been mentioned in a previous 
chapter, as important to the value of the marl; but 
they are only to be separated by an instructed chemist. 
Since expensive manures, such as guano, have come 
into vogue, the temptation to adulterations on the 
part of dealers is great, and farmers should be cau- 
tious in their purchases. By two or three simple tests, 
the comparative value of a substance offered as a 
guano, maybe ascertained. Table VI. p 106;, will be 
a useful one for reference in such a case. 

1. A weighed portion may be heated for some 
hours, at a temperature not exceeding that of boiling 
water The loss of weight will then indicate the 
amount of water which the guano contained, and it 
can be referred with much probability to one of the 
classes m.entioned in Table VL 

2. This dried portion may be burned, till it has 
ceased to lose weight: the loss is organic matter, and 
salts of ammonia; if it is greater than the largest 
quantity mentioned in Table VL, then it is probable 
that an adulteration has been practised, by mixing 
some finely-ground organic substance, such as tan- 
bark. 

3. The residue after burning should be nearly 
white, not more than about 36 per cent of the w^iole 
weight, and should dissolve almost entirely in muriatic 
acid. If a large portion refuses to dissolve, some solid 
substance may have been added as an adulteration. 

4. Some solid may also have been added, \vhich 
would dissolve in acid; and it therefore becomes neces- 
sary to ascertain if that which has dissolved be really 
phosphate of lime. This is simply and easily done by 
adding ammonia, till the acid solution has become 
alkaline : if phosphate of lime be present, it will im- 



CERTAIN USEFUL ANALYSE?. 197 

mediately be precipitated in the form of white floccu- 
lent masses, the abundance of which may indicate 
the proportion present in the guano. 

5. It is safe still farther to test the organic matter, 
by mixing with quicklime, as described, page 106. A 
very strong odor of ammonia should become percep- 
tible immediately, and continue to be given off for a 
considerable length of time. 

The foregoing instances are of a nature so simple 
as to be easily understood, and are sufficient to show 
that the farmer, without becoming a chemist, may 
still make some valuable experiments for his own sa- 
tisfaction; and this wnth such means as are to be found 
in any country village. 

I might multiply cases of the same nature to an 
indefinite extent, but as this is not an extended treatise 
upon analytical chemistry, the above illustrations are 
sufficient for the present purpose. 

One great end will be attained by all who go 
through with such examinations as these, or Avho ex- 
periment upon the various substances mentioned in the 
previous chapters. They will soon familiarize them- 
selves to such an extent with chemical phenomena, 
and terms, that they will be able, far more readily 
and perfectly than ever before, to comprehend the 
writings and discoveries of scientific men, and to draw 
from them truths profitably applicable to their own 
j)ursuits. 



17* 



198 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE GENERAL APPLICATIONS OF GEOLOGY TO 
AGRICULTURE. 

Changes that the earth's surface has undergone. Unstratified or 
primary rocks. Stratified or secondary and tertiary rocks. 
Regular succession of the strata. Each stratum known by 
characteristic fossils. Composition of granite, and of traps or 
basalts. Differences in composition among the stratified rocks. 
Illustration by diagram. Of disturbing causes which have al- 
tered soils. Drift; explanation of its nature, and theories of 
its formation. Alluvial deposits. Practical advantages of 
geological knowledge. 

SECTION I. OF THE STRATIFED AND UNSTRATIFIED ROCKS. 

Geological science explores the structure of this 
earth's surface, to as great a depth as our means of 
observation extend. In the course of geological in- 
vestigations, various important and interesting lavi's 
have been established. 

It is found that the earth has been, before man 
inhabited it, a scene of constant change and convul- 
sion. Forces from within and without, have elevated, 
upheaved, and even overturned, some portions of its 
surface; while others have been overwhelmed, or de- 
pressed, in a corresponding degree. Dry land has 
thus appeared where seas had flowed, and seas have 
swept over what had long been elevated above their 
surface. But it may be asked, how do we know all 
of these facts ? The answer to this is plain : simply 
by investigation of existing rocks, in the phenomena 
connected with their position and structure. 



UNSTRATIFIED AND STRATIFIED ROCKS. 199 

The labors of geologists have resulted in the es- 
tablishment of certain great divisions, among the 
rocks which present themselves for our inspection. 
The leading, and grand division, is into stratified, and 
unstratified rocks. 

The unstratified rocks are also often called primary- 
rocks, because they occur below the others. These 
rocks are the granites, syenites, traps, etc. They have 
no arrangement into regular strata, but are confused 
crystallized masses, evidently the result of fusion; 
they have all at one time been melted like lavas, and 
are, in fact, ancient lavas, which, in cooling, have 
assumed their present form. Occasionally these old 
lavas have burst up through the stratified rocks, just 
as volcanic eruptions do now, and have cooled in the 
open air : in such places we have the ranges of gra- 
nites, and traps, or basalts, which cover so much of 
the earth's surface. 

The stratified rocks maybe divided into secondary, 
and tertiary, formations, according to their age. The 
primary rocks, as has been stated, bear marks of fu- 
sion, and of having been formed by heat; not so with 
the . secondary, and tertiary rocks. Their materials 
have evidently all been deposited by water, having in 
many cases undergone striking changes afterward, 
but always retaining marks of their origin. Some- 
times the strata are thick, as in some sandstones, and 
limestones; sometimes thin, like the leaves of a book, 
as in some slates. 

a. An example of stratification may be seen in 
almost any sand or clay bank, where the successive 
deposits by water are clearly marked; some of the 
layers being quite thick, others very thin; some quite 
level, and others again very undulating. 

These strata were of course all deposited in regular 
succession, one above another ; if there had been no 
subsequent changes, then we should only be acquaint- 



200 NO COAL BELOW THE OLD RED SANDSTONE. 

ed with a few of the upper deposits. But the various 
convulsions of which I liave spoken, interfered to pre- 
vent this order; we consequently find the strata lying 
in all imaginable positions, sometimes fiat, sometimes 
bent, sometimes inclined, and sometimes straight on 
end or vertical. In this way they are all, even to the 
lowest, in one place and another, presented to our 
view. Whatever convulsions they may have under- 
gone, however they have been twisted and contorted, 
their relative position to each other is always the same, 
in whatever fart of the icoHd they may hejound. 

This is a most important practical fact; as an in- 
stance, there are many kinds of sandstone : under one 
kind coal is always found, and this is called the new 
red sandstone; but heloio the coal is another, called 
the old red sandstone. Where this last occurs, it is a 
positive certainty that no coal exists beneath it, and 
consequently explorations are fruitless. A person 
unacquainted with geology, would as soon look under 
one sandstone formation as another, and would there- 
fore be liable to severe losses. Such losses used fre- 
quently to occur, before geology had arrived at its 
present advanced state. 

It is necessary to say in a few words, how these 
various stratifications are distinguished from one ano- 
ther, and how their relative age can be known with 
so much certainty. 

The different geological examinations of w^iich I 
have spoken, show that there were not only vast alter- 
ations on this earth's surface, before man became its 
inhabitant; but that race upon race, millions upon 
millions, of animated creatures, had lived and died 
here. With the successive changes which have depo- 
sited the various rocks, whole classes of animals and 
plants have been swept from existence, and replaced 
by others, differing perhaps entirely in form and struc- 
ture. But these races, though they disappeared, were 



DETERMINATION OF SUCCESSIVE STRATA. 201 

not annihilated : they were embahned, as it were, 
where they died; and we can now dig out from the 
bowels of the rock, an impression, or the frame itself, 
of a fish, as clear and distinct as when it first died; 
or a plant, with every little feathery leaf preserved, 
as perfect as when it waved on that unknown land, or 
floated in that ancient sea, long centuries before man 
drew the breath of life. 

These are the records which enable us to read the 
early history of our globe; these mute witnesses, each 
in its own peculiar rock, identify that rock, in what- 
ever part of the world it may occur. There is a 
gradual progression in their appearance. The lowest 
fossiliferous rocks contain but few remains, and those 
of species entirely dissimilar to any which now exist. 
As we come down from this most remote antiquity, 
the fossils increase in number, and also in their like- 
ness to the forms of living species; until at last, in 
the very latest formations, we find both animals and 
plants nearly or quite identical with some of our ex- 
isting kinds. A skilful geologist can always tell, 
from its fossils, at what position in the series any rock 
belongs. 

The number of stratified rocks is very great, but it 
is not my present purpose even to name them: I shall 
only show, how a knowledge of their composition 
bears upon the practical cultivation of the soil. 

SECTION II. OF THE DIFFERENCES IN COMPOSITION AMONG 
THE VARIOUS ROCKS. 

All of our rocks, both stratified and unstratified, 
diflfer in composition most materially. We may take 
first, two examples of the primary, or unstratified 
class, granite, and basalt, or trap. 

Granite is a mixture of three minerals, called quartz, 
feldspar, and mica. The quartz is nothing but silica; 
111 the feldspar and mica, there is also silica with 



202 COMPOSITION OF DIFFERENT ROCKS. 

much alumina, and very considerable quantities of 
potash or soda. There is scarcely any lime, and no 
phosphates, beyond perhaps mere traces. Some varie- 
ties of granite do contain these substances in fair 
proportions, but for the most part there is very little 
of either. Hence granitic soils are frequently cold 
and poor, particularly on the sides of the hills. In 
the valleys they are apt to be better, as the best part 
of the decomposing minerals naturally washes down 
the slopes. The abundance of alumina, however, 
often makes these soils quite stiff. 

The true trap rocks, or basaltic rocks,' also contain 
feldspar, but with it an abundance of another mineral 
called hornblende; or another still, called augite. 
Both of these abound in lime, and consequently in 
this class of rocks, according to theory, we have the 
materials for producing soils superior to those formed 
on the granitic regions. Practice supports the same 
view; the greenstone traps and basalts almost inva- 
riably form strong, good soils, fitted for the successful 
cultivation of almost any crop. Some of the richest 
land in Scotland is on this formation. 

The trap rocks vary in different situations, as to 
their proportion of lime. In nine samples examined by 
Prof. Johnston, the percentage of lim.e ranged from 
2 to more than 10 per cent. These soils are so rich in 
some places, that the surface is carted away to spread 
upon poorer fields. 

The same differences of composition occur among 
the stratified rocks. Some form very excellent soils, 
and others very barren ones. The annexed diagram 
will show how the soils alter, from what is called the 
cropping out of mineral strata. 



RELATION OF ROCKS TO THE SOIL. 203 

At a, the strata are set up vertically, and are quite 
thin; suppose them to differ considerably in composi- 
tion, there would be a different soil in every mile or 
less. I once examined a series of seven slate rocks, 
taken from as many different layers of slate, in the 
same district. Four of them were almost destitute 
of lime, two had about 2 per cent each, and one had 
nearly 8 per cent. How ditlerent must have been the 
soils which these slates formed! 

As we descend upon the plain, in the diagram, the 
strata lie nearly horizontal, and each may perhaps 
cover a large district. Thus beginning at' 6, we per- 
haps come upon a poor sandy soil, formed from some 
inferior sandstone; proceeding along this for fifty 
miles, we come at d, upon a limestone of good quali- 
ty; here the character of the soil changes at once, 
and we have a rich, fertile district. 

At the points wdiere two different strata meet, is 
very likely to be a good soil; because a union of the 
two generally supplies either all that is necessary to 
the chemical composition, or alters for the better the 
physical character of the soil. 

Suppose e, in the hollow^, to be an exceedingly wet 
and tough clay, too tenacious for profitable cultiva- 
tion: at the point 6, where w^e meet the poor sand} 
soil before mentioned, the sand mixes with the clay, 
and forms a mellow^ rich soil. At c, on the hill side, 
where the strata lie horizontally, changes are of course 
more frequent, and the character of the soils at the 
base is apt to be affected by washing down from those 
above. 

These differences in the character of different strata, 
explain also some facts relative to the wetness of soils. 
We often see the side of a steep hill very w^et If the 
stratum of rock and soil at c be stiff, and impervious 
to water, all the rain which falls on the country back 
and higher up will sink till it comes to this stratum. 



204 GEOLOGICAL DISTURBANCES. 

It cannot penetrate and sink farther, so it follows 
along this layer, till it comes out above c, on the side 
of the hill, and wets all of the country below. On 
the other hill a, if the strata are pervious to water, it 
will all sink away, and the soil will be perfectly dry. 



SECTION III. OF THE CAUSES WHICH HAVE DISTURBED THE 
REGULAR FORMATION OF SOILS, FROM THEIR UNDERLY- 
ING ROCKS. 

From the foregoing explanations, it might be sup- 
posed, that if w^e know the rock lying underneath any 
given field, and can tell of what that rock is composed, 
w^e may be able to decide positively upon the charac- 
ter of the soil on the surface. This is not, however, 
always the case. 

That it is not so, may be ascribed to the numerous 
convulsions of the earth's surface, which have been 
before mentioned. Geological explorations have 
shown, that immense districts in various parts of the 
W'orld, have no relations in the character of their sur- 
face, to the geological features of the region; the 
rocks w^hich would ordinarily show themselves upon 
the surface, are covered, to a greater or less extent, 
by transported materials from some other source. Such 
observations as these, have led to the study of w^hat 
are called the phenomena of drift. 

The vast quantities of transported materials, w^hich 
thus overlie original rocks, consist, on inspection, 
of the ruins of other formations that have been 
broken and crumbled down, and their fragments borne 
to other regions by some unknown power. It is clear, 
however, that water has been one chief ajxent in this 
action; for in nearly every case the stones which occur 
in drift, are water-w^orn and rounded; thus showing 
that they have been rolled along in some mighty cur- 
rent, till all their angles have Vvorn away. We s-e 



PHENOMENA OF DRIFT. 205 

hard quartz rocks, weighing many tons, that have 
been perfectly rounded and smoothed in this way, 
and can thence conjecturje how fearful must have been 
the rush and the war of elements, that produced such 
effects. 

Geologists consider that there have been several 
periods of drift, on the northern part of this continent; 
all of them being in a westerly direction, coming from 
the east. Some ascribe it to the action of ice, either 
in the form of glaciers, or icebergs; others to the up- 
heaval of the bottom in some portion of the north sea, 
sending an indescribable torrent of mingled mud, ice, 
and water, sweeping over the face of the country; 
tearing away hills, scooping out valleys, crumbling 
away various strata of rock, and depositing their ma- 
terials in different and often far distant localities. 

The fact that the rocks on the sides of some of our 
highest hills are ground smooth, and marked with 
scratches and even deep grooves, in the direction 
which these currents, or masses of ice, took, shows 
how irresistible must have been their force, and how 
great their volume. 

In some cases, the action of tliis drift has been, to 
cover up good soils, or rocks that are capable of pro- 
ducing such soils, with immense accumulations of 
sand and gravel. In other places it has deposited a 
better class of substances than the original. On the 
whole, it may be considered that it has done good, by 
mixing the ruins of various formations; varying the 
soil, and the consequent productions, over districts 
that would otherwise have been uniform, and where 
the want of these various materials might have been 
severely felt, in all the ordinary occupations of life. 
What must have seemed at the time, wild chaotic 
confusion and ruin, was then after all a wise pro- 
vision of God, to prepare this continent more per- 
fectly for our habitation. 

^ 18 



206 FORMATION OF SURFACE SOIL. 

There are other sections, where foreign accumula- 
tions cover the original soil, and alter its capabilities, 
from causes that we can more fully comprehend; 
causes which are operating at the present day. These 
are alluvial plains, formed by substances deposited 
during the annual overflow of rivers. These, during 
high water, become charged in the rapid currents of 
their sources, with materials from all of the formations 
through which their course lies. When the water 
reaches the plains of the low countries, where it has 
room to expand beyond its usual limits, a deposit of 
these suspended substances takes place, as soon as the 
current is checked by spreading out over the surface, 
and its flow becomes tranquil. 

Thus an annual layer is formed, which in time 
makes a soil of great depth, and usually of great fer- 
tility; for the reason that it is a mixture from the 
ruins of many rocks, and therefore likely to contain 
all that plants need. We have many instances of such 
soils in this country; on the banks of the Connecticut, 
of the Mohawk, of the Mississippi, and a hundred other 
streams. 

These causes, then, are sufficient reasons for saying 
that we can not always assert what any particular 
soil will be, if we know the rock of the district in 
which it is situated. Our opinion upon such a sub- 
ject must be given with the reservation — " If there 
have been no disturbing influences." An inspection 
of a district by a practised eye, would immediately 
detect any foreign deposits, and determine their cha- 
racter. 

It is easy to perceive how a knowledge of this sub- 
ject, even of a superficial nacurt^, must oe valuable 
to a practical man. If his soil is formed by the de- 
composition of a granitic rock, he can ascertain with 
little trouble, what are the constituents of that rock, 
and what are the special inauines luoit likely to 



UTILITY AND INTEREST OF GEOLOGY. 207 

prove beneficial in his section. So also if he wishes 
to buy land in a distant region, and has no definite 
knowledge as to its character; he may determine its 
probable quality at once, from a good geological map. 
If he has cultivated the soil of some particular forma- 
tion, till he has come to like it, and to know better 
how to cultivate it than any other; he may in the 
same manner learn where to find for himself, or for 
his children, the same kind of land in some other dis- 
trict. 

I may observe in conclusion, that while Geology is 
thus practically useful, it also is among the most in- 
teresting of sciences; for it takes us back through 
ages that are past, and lays open the early history of 
our globe, with its silent, yet speaking, records of ex- 
tinct races, and of sudden overwhelming changes. 

Nothing in this world can give such an idea of an- 
tiquity, as one of these fossils that I have mentioned; 
the remains of a fish, or a shell, from some of the 
lower stratified rocks. We are accustomed to think of 
the pyramids as ancient; but this creature enjoyed 
life, and fulfilled its part in the animated world, at 
a period which brings the pyramids, in comparison, 
down to things of yesterday. Since it died, race after 
race, in gradual progression, has occupied the seas 
and the land; has in its turn been sooner or later 
swept away, to make a part of some new formation. 
Wide seas or rapid torrents have rolled over its 
resting place; and then again by a new change, it 
has supported the immense growth of some old fossil 
forest on dry land, which, in its turn overwhelmed, 
gave place to other seas, containing still other forms 
of life. 

After all these unnumbered centuries of revolution, 
it comes forth to the gaze of man upon the earth, which 
in its day and generation it helped to prepare for his 



208 CONCLUSION. 

abode; to speak to him of the infinite power of that 
Being who made them both. 

It is thus with everything in this world of ours; on 
every side we are reminded of a superior, and an 
All-wise, Creator. We have been tracing nothing 
but the evidences of his wisdom and power, in the 
simple yet beautiful laws which regulate ihe being 
and growth of all living things; and here we have in 
this bit of stone, an evidence strong as doubt itself 
could demand, that these same laws were in operation 
thousands of years before any of our race existed. 

To study such laws, then, is a noble as well as 
attractive pursuit; for they are not to outlast us, as 
they will everything in the material world around 
us, whose existence and whose periodical changes 
they regulate. 

Our bodies, it is true, will come under the uni- 
versal power of death; will be resolved once more 
into their various elements; will perform once more 
their part in that great circle of life which we have 
endeavored to follow in its varied round : but our souls 
will be beyond all such influences; will, living, be acting 
out an immortal destiny, in a world where every 
transformation will not be a step toward ultimate 
decay, and where the blossoms of this brief lifetime 
will ripen into the sweet or bitter fruits of eternity. 



EIFJIENTS OF 8CIEMIFIC A(^R1€ULTIIRE : 

Or, the Connexion between Science and the Art of 

Practical Farming. 
(Prize Essay of the New-York State Agricultural Society.) 

By JOHN P. NORTON, M. A. 

Prof, of Scientific Agriculture in Yale College, Editor of Stephens' 
Book of the Farm, ^c. ^c. 

1 vol. 12mo. dark green cloth, and appropriate devices in Gold 
embossed on the side and back. 

New-York Agricultural Society, 
January^ 1S50. 
Extract from the Report of the Committee on Professor Norton's 
work, entitled " Elements of Scientific Agriculture" (John 
Dellafield, Esq., Oakland; Hon J. P. Beeckman, Esq., Kin- 
derhook; Hon. George Geddes, Fairmount, Committee). 
" As a work of science it embodies every principle and funda- 
mental feature of Agriculture which has been developed to this 
period, and having the stamp of truth, arrayed in simple yet per- 
spicuous language. It would seem expedient that no effort should 
be spared to carry this work to the home of every man, whether 
directly or remotely connected with the pursuit of agriculture 
until science shall unfold to us other facts and further develop- 
ments of Nature's laws. This work should be the Elementary 
Text-book for every person, old or young, who studies the culti- 
vation of the earth-, it should form a prominent object in every 
school district of the State, and be strong alike in the affections 
of teacher and pupil. ' We adjudge to Prof. Norton the Premium 
of One Hundred Dollars.' A resolution was unanimously adopted 
by the Society, recommending, and also by the Executive Com- 
mittee directing, the printing of one thousand copies of the Es- 
say, to be awarded as premiums of the Society." 

I certify the above abstract of the Proceedings of the Society 
and Executive Committee. B. P. JOHNSON, 

(Copy.) Corresponding Secretary. 

SECRETARY'S OFFICE, 

Department of Com. Schools, 

Albany, April 20th, 1850. 
Messrs. E. H Pease ^ Co. : 

Gentlemen: I have examined the manuscript copy, and several 
of the printed sheets of Prof. Norton's "Elements of Scientifi.c 
Agriculture," and am of opinion that it is a work of great value 
and interest to all classes of the community, and e.^^pecially to 
those engaged in agricultural pursuits. It is a clear, concise, and 
full exposition of the elementary principles cormected with the 



science and art of practical farming ; and I know of no more valu- 
able compend on this subject, that could be placed in the hands 
of the students and pupils ot our academies and common schools. 
I cordially and cheerfully recommend it to parents and teachers, 
and trust it will find its way into every school, and every district 
library. . Very respectfully, your ob't serv't, 

CHRISTOPHER MORGAN, 

Superintendent of Com. Schools. 
I fully concur in the preceding recommendation. 

SAMUEL S. RANDALL, 

Editor of District School Journal. 



Extract from the Circular of the Executive Committee of the 
State Normal School to the Graduates, transmitting to each of 
them a copy of Professor Johnston's Catechism of Agricultural 
Chemistry and Geology. 

The earnestness which our Committee feel in this matter will 
be seen from the following extract, taken from their last annual 
report, made through the Regents of the University, to the Le- 
gislature,. February 11, 1850. 

"The committee, appreciating the great and growing import- 
ance of agricultural science, and considering it, in its elementary 
principles, an appropriate subject for common school instruction ; 
and considering also, that with the aid of suitable textbooks now; 
or soon to be attainable, the subject, always appropriate, has at 
length become feasible for such instruction •, have recently assign- 
ed it to a more prominent place than it had before held in the 
Normal School, by making it a separate or independent branch, 
and requiring it to be taught as an essential or constituent part 
of the course of study pursued in the school. The committee, im- 
pressed, as they themselves are, with the great importance of this 
new subject of study, hope to be able, through their normal gra- 
duates, acting under alike impression, to cause it to be introduced 
into all the schools taught by such graduates, and through their 
influence and that of such schools, to cause it to be finally adopted 
as part of the regular course of study in all the common schools, 
at least in the rural or agricultural parts of the state. 

The committee have learned, with much satisfaction, from the 
proceedings of the State Agricultural Society at its last annual 
meeting, that a treatise on the subject above referred to, has been 
recently prepared by Professor Norton and submitted to the socie- 
ty, who, after due examination, have recommended it as a very 
valuable production, specially appropriate for the use of common 
schools, and have directed it to be published with a view, as is 
understood, to such a use. Such a treatise at this time, together 
with the text books already published and in practical use, will, 
in the opinion of the committee, furnish all needful facilities for 
common school instruction on the subject above referred to." 

GEO. R. PERKINS, Principal of N. S. 
Normal School Albany, 3Iarch^ 1850. 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Ne-w York Agrictjltttfal Sooiett, 
Januafy^ 1850. 
Extract from the Report of the Committee on Professor Norton's 
work, entitled " Elements of Scientific Agriculture" (JohnDel- 
lafield, Esq., Oakland; Hon. John P. Beeckman, Esq., Kinder- 
hook; Hon. George Geddes, Fairmount, Committee). 
' 'As a work of science it embodies every principle and f unda- 
mental feature of »/f^r^Vw/^Mre which has been developed to this 
period, and having the stamp of truth, arrayed in simple yet per- 
spicuous language. It would seem expedient that no effort should 
be spared to carry this work to the home of every man, whether 
directly or remotely connected with the pursuit of agriculture, 
until science shall unfold to us other facts and further developments 
of Nature's laws. This work should be the Elementary Text- 
book for every person, old and young, who studies the cultivation 
of the earth; it should form a prominent object in every school 
district of the state, and be strong alike in the affections of teacher 
and pupil. ' We adjudge to Prof. Norton the Premium of One 
Hundred Dollars.' A resolution was unanimously adopted by the 
Society, recommending, and also by the Executive Committee, 
directing the printing of one thousand copies of the Essay, to be 
awarded as premiums of the Society." 

I certify the above abstract of the Proceedings of the Society 
and Executive Committee. B. P. JOHNSON, 

(Copy.) Corresponding Secretary. 



SECRETARY'S OFFICE, 
Department of Common S' hools. 



a 

Albany, April 2:)ih, 1850. 
Messrs. E. H. Pease ^ Co.; 

Gentlemen: I have examined the manuscript copy, and several 
of the printed sheets of Prof. Norton's "Elements of Scientific 
Agriculture," and am of opinion that it is a work of great value 
and interest to all classes of the community, and especially to 
those engaged in agricultural pursuits. It is a clear, concise, and 
full exposition of the elementary principles connected with the 
science and art of practical farming; and I know of no more valu- 



able compend on this subject, that could be placed in the hands of 
the students and pupils of our academies and common schools. I 
cordially and cheerfully recommend it to parents and teachers, 
and trust it will find its way into every school, and every district 
library. Very respectfully, your ob't serv't, 

CHRISTOPHER MORGAN, 

Sup't of Common Schools. 
I fully concur in the preceding recommendation, 

SAMUEL S. RANDALL, 
Editor of District School Journal. 

Elements of Scientific Agriculture, or the Connection between 
Science and the Art of Practical Farming. Prize Essay of the 
New York State Agricultural Society. By John P. Norton, 
Professor of Scientific Agriculture ir* Yale College. Albany: 
Erastus H. Pease ^ Co. New Haven: T. H. Pease, pp. 208. 
1850. 

We should be glad to see this volume in the possession of every 
family in the State, and taught in every school in the State. We 
know of no knowledge which would act so directly on the pros- 
perity of our citizens, as a knowledge of the scientific principles 
of Agriculture — hardly any, which would tend more to 'elevate 
the intellectual character of the people. Agriculture as here ex- 
pounded, has that combination of the Practical and the Theoreti- 
cal, which, while it elevates the former above mere toil, and re- 
lieves it of much of its laboriousness, gives healthful exercise to 
the intellect, and restrains the latter within the bounds of legiti- 
mate inductions. We have read this book with care, and we do 
not hesitate to give it our unqualified approbation. It has several 
peculiar excellencies. In the first place it is really scientific. The 
scientific principles upon which the Art of agriculture rests, are 
derived from various sciences, but especially from Chen)istry. 
Now there is a very great difference between reading upon these 
subjects so as to compile a book, and writing on these subjects 
from a mastery of them — a difference between that general infor- 
mation which belongs to all well read men, and true scientific 
men. We doubt not the judgment of 

the New York State Agricultural Society, who awarded to it its 
prize, will be fully confirmed by the community. — The New Eng- 
lander. 

Elementaky Principles of Scientific Agriculture. By 
John P. Norton, M. A., Professor-of Scientific Agriculture in 
Yale College. 
This work is published under tne immediate auspices of the 

New York State Agricultural Society, and is a full, complete. 



and comprehensive exposition of the fundamental priiiuiples of 
practical and scientific ai^riculture. We trust it may find its way 
into every School District Library in the State. — District School 
Journal^ 

Nokton's Elements of Scientific Agrictjlttjre, 

This is the work to which was awarded the Premium of $100 
by the New York State Agricultural Society. It is a small book 
of some 200 pages, but a great one, in its best sense, containing 
the elements of sciimtific agriculture. Its language is plain, its 
illustrations simple. It is a work for the farmer, and the farmer 
should read it, and teach it to his children. — Genesee Fanner. 

Norton's Elements of Scientific AGRicuLTtiRE, 

The design of this work, in the language of the author, is to 
"clearly and distinctly explain the great principles that are in- 
7olved in the applications of science to agriculture." In reference 
to the manner in which this design has been carried out, we can 
not better express our own views than by the adoption of the lan- 
guage of the committee by whom the examination of the essay 
was made, and the prize of $100 aw^arded: 

The committee closed their report by recommending tnat the 
work be adopted for the District School Libraries. The Execu- 
tive Committee of the State Agricultural Society have also passed 
a resolution authorising the printing of one thousand copies at the 
expense of the Society, to be awarded as premiums. We are con- 
fident the work will me^t with a ready demand, and that it will 
be read and studied with great satisfaction and advantage by all 
who are interested in the principles of agriculture. — Albany Cul- 
tivator. 

Elements of Scientific Agricxjltttke, or the Connection be • 
tween Science and the Art of Practical Farming, 
It is by Professor Norton, of Yale College, and is one of the few 
plain scientific works upon the culture of the soil, that every man 
of good common sense can comprehend, and may be to the farmer 
what Blackstone is to the lawyer, a text book. It is as applica- 
ble to Southern culture as to Northern, for it embraces all the 
science of the earth's tillage, the elements of plants, the consti- 
tuents of soils, the composition of the air, the acids, gasses, and 
the alkalies, and the part that each and every one takes in per- 
fecting crops of all kinds, the composition of manures, and in 
short every thing that will explain why a plant wants food, and 
how it will take its food, and what kind of food is proper for it. 
Messrs, Pease 4" Co. will please accept our thanks. There is 
not a printed book in the Union which could have been more ac* 



ceptable. We are but novices in the great art of Ag-ricultur^, 
and any thin^f that will give us light, we hail with gratitude and 
pleasure. We shall, from time to time, give our readers ex- 
tracts from the work. — Columbus [Ga.) Enquirer, 

Elements of Agriculture. By John P. Norton, M. A., Pro- 
fessor of Scientific Agriculture in Yale College, 

This is a neat volume by one whose reputation for agricultural 
science stands high, and whose writings on this subject we have 
read with interest and instruction. Simplicity of language and 
distinctness of illustration are its prominent characteristics. The 
author has, in a good measure, happily avoided the use of techni- 
cal and unusual terms. No treatise of the kind, so well suited 
to form the basis of agricultural instruction in our public schools, 
has come to our knowledge. We trust it will be found highly 
useful as a text-book for popular instruction. 

Many things are here stated as simple elements, the demon- 
stration of which has been the result of much observation and labor. 
It not unfrequently happens, that the most useful truths when 
known and distinctly stated, awaken surprise, that they should 
have so long passed without notice. One of the greatest obsta- 
cles to the acquisition of agricultural science, has been the forbid- 
ding garb in which it has been arrayed. — New England Farmer. 

Elements of Scientific AGRicuLTtrKE. 

The bare annunciation of such a work, by Prof, Norton, will be 
sufficient to awaken, among all friends of agricultural improve- 
ment, a general desire to possess it. So far as we have been able, 
to examine its pages, our high expectations have been fully met. 
Prof. Norton has a common sense way of presenting the various 
topics connected with agricultural science, and it is to the common 
sense of every man, that his conclusions commend themselves. 
Would that every farmer in Michigan were in possession of this 
book. — Michigan Farmer, 

Norton's Elements of Scientific Agrictiltttre. 

No work which has been issued from the press in this country, 
is of so much iirportance to the agricultural interest as this. 
The author has been completely successful 
in his treatise, and has produced a work, which, while it illus- 
trates fully the principles of science in their application to the 
practical work on the farm, is so plain and familiar in its illus- 
trations, that no one we think can fail to appreciate them, and to 
apply them, if need be to the Dractical purposes of agriculture. 

we can not doubt it is des- 



tined to exert a salutary influence upon the agriculture of our 
state and nation. The State Agricultural Society are entitled to 
the thanks of the agricultural interest, for bringing before the 
public this valuable work. — Albany Evening Journal. 



Elements of Scientific Agrictjltttre. 

The name of Prof. Norton is becoming widely known in this 
country in connection with scientific agriculture. After receiving 
the best education which Europe could afford in the profession to 
which he had devoted himself, he has been since his return most 
usefully employed in extending a knowledge of the subject among 
his own countrymen. 

The present work was originally written as an Essay for the 
Agricultural Society, and received from the judges appointed for 
that purpose, the highest premium, while the executive commit- 
tee ordered the printing of one thousand copies, to be awarded as 
premiums of the society. This would of itself be a sufficient en 
dorsement. — Albany State Register, 



Norton's Elements of Scientific Agrictjlttjee. 

We look upon it as one of the most valuable contributions to 
Agricultural literature that the press has sent forth. Its defini- 
tions of the properties, constituents, uses, and offices of the vari- 
ous substances which comprise soils and their products; its. 
explanations of the several kinds of manures and their specific 
actions, of the composition of plants, the feeding of crops and ani- 
mals, the remarks on the produce of the dairy, on the nature of 
chemical analysis, and the application of Geology to Agriculture, 
are all so plain that he who runs may read, and reading, compre- 
nend what he reads. It appears to have been the great object of 
the enlightened author, to accommodate his writing to the gene- 
ral mind. Though he has necessarily had to deal in the technicals 
of science, he has explained each, in its turn, in so easy and fa- 
miliar a way, that all may understand not only the meaning of 
the term used, but the office and relation which the particular 
substance named bears to the earth. As an elemental book, for 
clearness, simplicity, and practicalness, it has no superior. It 
should not only be introduced into every literary institution in the 
country, but find a place in the dwelling of every Agriculturist 
who may desire to understand the close affinity which the science 
of chemistry bears to the noble art by which he obtains his living, 
and how essential its knowledge is to a successful and profitable 
prosecution of his labors. 

We unhesitatingly commend Prof. Norton's work to our read- 



ers, and as unhesitatingly say, that its chapters upon the rearing 
of aniiDals, the rnanageinent o/ milch cows, the management of 
the dairy, and the fattening of cattle, appear to us to possess more 
merit, more plain, manly common sense, and more true philoso- 
phy, than any others than have ever fallen under our observation. 
— American Fanner^ Baltimore^ Md.- 

NonxoN's Elements or Scientific Aghicultuke. 

The subject is very ably discussed, and elucidated in a clear 
and comprehensive language, such as would not discourage the 
young inquirer, nor dissatisfy the adept in such branches of sci- 
entific research. The task is well done, and we feel indebted to 
Professor Norton for opening another pleasant avenue to Agricul- 
tural knowledge and practice. — Maine Farmer. 

Nokton's Elements of Scientific Agriculture. 

We have looked through Prof. Norton's new treatise with some 
degree of care, and find it well adapted to the purpose for which 
it was mainly composed, namely, to supply correct elementary 
instruction in Scientfic Agriculture, for the use of schools and 
inquiring young men engaged in the business of farming. The 
application of scientific principles to the art of cultivating the 
earth, management of the dairy, the breeding and feeding of ani- 
mals, ^c, is treated of in simple language, with scientific accu- 
racy, and in considerable fulness. The publication is alike cre- 
ditable to the talents and industry of the author, and the discrimi- 
nating judgment of the valuable society which has been the means 
of calling it forth. We should be happy to see it introduced into 
all the schools, and the family of every farmer in this country. — 
Canadian Agriculturist. 



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